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About Google Book Search Google's mission is to organize the world's information and to make it universally accessible and useful. Google Book Search helps readers discover the world's books while helping authors and publishers reach new audiences. You can search through the full text of this book on the web at|http: //books .google .com/I f HARVARD COLLEGE LIBRARY ntmCTHB FUND OP FREDERICK ATHEARN LANE OPNBV YOBK vt THE RISE OF OUR EAST AFRICAN EMPIRE Volume II. UGANDA WITH CHAPTERS ON ADMINISTRATION— PAST AND FUTURE— AND SUGGESTIONS FOR DEALING WITH THE COUNTRY CAPTAIN W. H. WIIXIAMR, R.A i I -i' BrH^//-- <,/.■/•.<■/,. ■ J^A i&n«Mi v;. '' •- lull Reunion iri*«nch) HH-- ^ J^^ b-\l l.^ I" i CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME. i CHAP. XXII. XXIII. XXIV. XXV. XXVI. XXVII. XXVIII. XXIX. XXX. XXXI. XXXII. XXXIII. XXXIV. XXXV. XXXVI. SKETCH OF EARLY HISTORY OP UGANDA, AND POSITION OP APPAIRS ON ARRIVAL THERE, PRELIMINARY WORK IN UGANDA, . DIFFICULTIES IN UGANDA, .... DIFFICULTIES IN UGANDA (continued), WAR AGAINST MOHAMMEDANS, AND TOUR IN BUDDU, BUDDU TO SALT LAKE, .... SALT LAKE TO KAVALLl's, .... KAVALLl'S TO FORT LORNE, .... PORT LORNE TO PORT GRANT, . . PORT GRANT TO KAMPALA, .... UGANDA UNDER CAPTAIN WILLIAMS — SITUATION AT END OF 1891, AND UP TO EVE OP THE WAR, THE FIGHTING IN UGANDA, . SITUATION IN UGANDA. DURING THE WAR, EVENTS SDBSEQUENT TO THE WAR, PEACE CONCLUDED WITH THE WA-FR^INSA, XXXVII. SETTLEMENT OP THE COUNTRY, XXXVIIL MOHAMMEDANS REPATRIATED — PEACE THROUGHOUT UGANDA, PAGE 1 33 61 91 117 149 183 216 246 276 297 325 360 388 418^ 447 473 i I VI CONTENTS. XXXIX. CLOSE OF MY ADMINISTRATION IN UGANDA — MARCH TO KIKUYU, ....... 504 _ 'XL. KIKUYU TO ENGLAND THE " UGANDA QUESTION," 534 ,. -^^LL RETENTION OF UGANDA, ..... 563 /^LIL ORIGIN OP THE " BRITISH SPHERE," AND METHODS OF DEALING WITH IT, . . . 595 ySLIlI. ADMINISTRATION PAST AND FUTURE, APPENDIX. APP. II. LETTER FROM MGR. HIRTH TO CAPTAIN WILLIAMS, DATED 14th JULY 1891, ..... 660 III. ORDERS FOR ADMINISTRATION OF WITU, . 663 IV. NOTES ON THE SMALL PHYSICAL MAPS, . 665 634 INDEX, ........ 669 CAPTAIN W. H. WILLIAMS, R.A., INTRODUCTION TO MWANGA, . PRESENTATION OF THE TREATY, WAR IMMINENT AT MENGO, BEATING THE ROYAL WAR-DRUMS, THE UGANDA ARMY ON THE MARCH, THE BATTLE AGAINST THE MOHAMMEDANS, THE FIGHT AGAINST DUKALA AT THE MOKIA RIVER, PARADE OF SUDANESE REFUGEES AT KAVALLI, SHOOTING A TOUGH OLD TUSKER, CROSSING THE MPANGA RIVER, . RECROSSING THE MPANGA RIVER, WILLIAMS PATROLLING MENGO, THE SUDANESE CHARGE UNDER WILLIAMS, INSIDE THE FORT DURING THE FIGHT, THE WA-FRAN8A OUSTED FROM THE ISLAND, KAMPALA AFTER THE WAR, " SIC TRANSIT GLORIA MUNDI," THE RETURN OF THE KING, . THE NAMASOLE'S VISIT, THE MOHAMMEDANS GIVE UP THEIR KING, GOOD-BYE TO KAMPALA, CAMP ON MAU, .... VIEWS OF SCENERY ON MAU, . AFRICAN SCENERY, Frontispiece To face page 24 II 34 II 80 II 110 M 120 M 132 M 184 II 218 II 222 II 246 M 260 M 308 't 344 M 346 II 354 It 398 It 412 M 418 II 470 II 494 It 522 II 560 II 592 M 608 \ £ t 4 ILLUSTRATIONS TO THE SECOND VOLUME. FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS. I •5 Vlll ILLUSTRATIONS. ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT. MWANGA, KABAKA (KING) OF UGANDA, OUR CAMP ON KAMPALA, F. DE WINTON, .... A NIGHT ATTACK EXPECTED, . W. GRANT, .... CONFERENCE WITH MWANGA BY NIGHT, A UGANDA RIVER-SWAMP, TYPES OF KAMPALA SOLDIERS, FACSIMILE OF A LETTER FROM EMIN, ISLAM CAMP, WITH SUDANESE PARTY, . A VIEW OF LAKE VICTORIA, . A SCARE OF THE NATIVES AT KICHWAMBA, RUWENZORI BY SUNSET, THE CAMP BY NIGHT AT RUWENZORI,. ATTACKED ON THE SEMLIKI, . EMIN PASHA, .... A STEEP CLIMB, IRETI PUT TO FLIGHT, . PASSAGE OF THE MUNOBO RIVER, AN AFRICAN SHAURI, . A HUNGRY HYENA, " SEDJANKURU " (THE GIANT) ON GUARD, MWANGa's FLAG, "ultima causa belli," the french mission after the war, the wa-fransa pillage mwami^s, . baggb escapes from 8ess£ islands, M.ALIA, ..... WILLIAMS LANDING AT SESS^, DE WINTON'S GRAVE, . MWANGA'S GUITAR, THE FRENCH MISSION (PORT). (SKETCHED THE war), .... THE MEETING OP THE RIVAL SULTANS, THE ROYAL DRUM OF UGANDA, IMMEDIATELY AFTER t 130 145 164 181 189 196 207 216 229 241 269 275 279 299 329 345 353 373 376 394 445 446 475 499 509 v^ Tl6\\a fi.ep oZv eywy* AarroS/xat . . . Uri ^vcrti vatriv avBpdirois ivdpx^i rutf fjLtv \otiopwtf Kcd Twu Kaniyopiuv aKo6eiv ^Scwx, rols 5' ixaivov^ & KoX veirolTjKa Kal v€xo\ir€V]uiai )3a8i([iw, xoWuKts \4yfiu avayKaa- $^(rofiat irepl ifiavrov. — DEMOSTHENES, ir*p< tmipavov^ &. I am at a disadvantage in many ways. It is human nature that we all listen gladly when any one is abused or accused, but are impatient of any one praising himself. If to avoid this I refrain from speaking of what I have done, I shall seem to be unable to rebut the accusations ; but if I enter upon an account of my actions and policy, I shall be compelled to speak repeatedly about myself. — Demosthenes, De Corona. r ^ 2 EARLY HISTORY OF UGANDA. humanity which we are wont to accept as indications of civilisation. There was an appeal to law, and cases were decided after a formal hearing. The administra- tion was vested in the king, — an absolute despot, — and from him downwards there existed a regular chain of delegated power and control. Well-made roads, kept constantly in repair, intersected the country in all directions. Rough bridges were constructed across river swamps. An army was maintained, and also a fleet of canoes on the waters of the lake. The arts of building, smith- work, &c., were very far in advance of anything to be found between Uganda and the coast. The ideas of decency, the use of clothing, and the planting of trees, were indications of long years of development, of which the intricate customs and etiquettes surrounding the Court were an additional proof Speke traces the earliest developments of this civili- sation to Unyoro and its shepherd kings, descendants of a nomadic, pastoral race — the Wahuma — whom he supposes to be an ofishoot from the Abyssinians or Gallas. Uganda and the countries lying along the lake shore, being the richest province of this Wahuma empire — called Kitara — had to bring large quantities of produce to Unyoro for the king s use, and their in- habitants were looked on as slaves. The legend relates that a hunter named Uganda headed a revolt, and was proclaimed king under the name of Kimera.^ Mtesa was the seventh of the dynasty, according to Speke, which shows it to be of some little antiquity.^ Speke was enthusiastic about the fertility of Uganda, and the development of its people as compared with the savage tribes of Africa. The next European to ^ Speke's Journal, p. 252. Others make Kintu the founder. 2 Wilson says 32d of dynasty. Uganda, and the Egyptian Sudan, by Wilson and Felkin, vol. i. p. 197. RELIGIOUS PERSECUTIONS. 7 Dastardly as this murder was, it must be admitted that Mwanga looked on Hannington's arrival as the precursor of war ; and it was most unfortunate that the bishop should have adopted the route vid Usoga. After this the position of the Europeans was very precarious, but not till the following May (1886) did the storm burst. Mwanga then threw aside all re- straint, and butchered the Christian converts whole- sale. On one occasion as many as thirty -two were burnt on one pyre ; but in spite of martyrdom by torture and burning, the religion grew, and converts came to be baptised, though they knew that the pro- fession of the Christian faith might cost them their lives on the morrow. Those who fell victims to the king's bloodthirstiness died with the praises of God on their lips, and met their death fearlessly. The heroism inspired by religion in the early history of our own Church was repeated here in the heart of Africa, and the story caused a strong feeling of admiration and sym- pathy among those who heard it in England. Men asked what kind of people were these who would thus brave death for their belief, and ceased to scoff at the reality of conversions which could stand so terrible a test. The missionaries themselves were in a most pre- carious position, and at one time Mackay's death was even planned by the king. There were at this time eight Europeans in Uganda, for in June Junker arrived, and was allowed to proceed on his way. Two of the French Fathers accompanied him. In August, Mackay and Ashe determined to leave the country, but the king would only permit the latter to go, and retained Mackay. For a year this brave mis- sionary was alone in Uganda, during which time a desultory persecution and massacre of Christians was continued. In July of the following year (1887) Mackay left, and went to the south of the lake. He 8 EARLY HISTORY OF UGANDA. was immediately succeeded by the Rev. E. C. Gordon, who was shortly afterwards joined by the Rev. R. H. Walker. In the following year (1888), after another long spell of desultory persecution, the fiend in Mwanga again prompted him to a master-stroke of butchery. He assembled the whole of the Christian and Moham- medan converts on some pretence, and planned to take them across to an island in the lake, and there leave them to perish. The plot leaked out : the would-be victims refused to obey the command, and marched on the capital. Mwanga fled, and was allowed to escape unhurt (Sept. 1888). He was deserted by all his following except the occupants of his own canoe — some thirty persons. He took refuge on an island at the south of the lake. Meanwhile his brother Kiwewa was made king, and the Christians, being the more numerous, assumed most of the offices, — the Mohammedans had the rest. The latter were jealous of the Christians, and, concealing their arms, suddenly took their rivals unawares, and treacherously murdered many of the chiefs. The Christians, panic-stricken, fled the country, and took refuge in Ankoli (Oct. A 888). Again the lives of the Europeans — six in num- "^ ber — were in great danger ; but, after a period of sus- pense, they were placed in a boat (which shortly after- wards capsized) on the lake, and were thus expelled the country and their goods looted. The Arabs were now masters of the situation, and tried to make Kiwewa conform to the Islam creed. He resented this, and killed two of the Mohammedan chiefs with his own hand ; but failing to kill the Katikiro (chief minister), he lost courage and fled. Karema, another brother, was now made king, and the Mohammedans were supreme, — while Kiwewa retreated to Singo and South Unyoro, and died shortly after. MWANGA RESTORED. 9 Meanwhile the exiled Europeans had found their way to the south of the lake. Mwanga was practically a prisoner in the hands of an Arab in the district of Magu, but later on escaped to Bukumbi, the French mission-station at the south of the lake. The Christians had collected in Ankoli, where they were welcomed and most hospitably treated by the king, Ntali. In May 1889 they sent messages to Mwanga offering to reinstate him on the throne under certain conditions. These he accepted, and was brought up by Mr Stokes (a trader, and formerly a mission-agent) in his boat. The heathen peasantry had been so cruelly treated by the Mohammedan party that those on the great island of Sessd declared for Mwanga, who thus obtained control of all the canoes on the lake. The Christians, however, / were defeated, and some again fled to Ankoli ; others joined Mwanga on the island of Bulingugwe, close to the shore of the lake opposite the capital. Stokes went south to procure arms and ammunition. Mwanga, hearing that a caravan of the British Company had arrived, under Mr Jackson, in Kavirondo on the east of the lake, wrote letters imploring his aid (June 1889) ; but Mr Jackson did not receive them till his arrival there in November. Already, even in these straits, the two parties of Christians could not avoid quarrelling, and they sent messages asking the Europeans to join them and keep the peace between them. Messrs Gordon and Walker went at once, and, with Stokes and P^re Lourdel, joined the king in the islands (Sept. 1889). The main body of the Christians was, however, in Ankoli. They now again advanced by land, and overcame all opposition till they met the Mohammedan force near the capital. The battle was indecisive, and both sides temporarily retired. The Christians, according to Mr Gordon,^ 1 Letter to Consul, Oct. 25th, 1889. 10 EARLY HISTORY OF UGANDA. had barely 2000 guns (Mackay says 1000), but as the peasantry were on their side, they had a very great mass of spearmen. The Mohammedans had many more guns, perhaps double the number possessed by the Christians, but fewer spearmen. Another battle was fought on Oct. 4th, 1889, and the Christians were completely victorious. By all accounts they showed very great gallantry, and won against heavy odds. They followed up their victory, drove the Moham- medans out of the capital, and pursued them for two days. Most of the Arabs were killed, and Karema the king and his party fled to the borders of Unyoro, and established themselves there. Mackay says that Karema was offered an asylum in Toru.^ The two Christian factions divided the country and all the offices of the State between them, entirely excluding the heathen chiefs. Mwanga was now restored amid acclamations, and the whole country declared for him. The Europeans returned, and settled again at the capital. Mr Walker ^ thus sums up the position at this time : — " There were three separate interests among the Europeans : (1) the English missionaries, who were anxious to see the Britisli power in the country, so as to ensure peace, and to put an end to the ceaseless war and carnage ; (2) the French Fathers, as repre- sented by P^re Lourdel, who had an exclusive influence with the king, and discouraged the advent of all Europeans, preferring rather that arms should be imported for the natives; (3) Mr Stokes, who wished to obtain a paramount influence, so as to offer terms to any Europeans who came to Uganda. He repre- sented himself as the Consul's agent; promised British assist- ance; got 120-130 frasilahs^ of ivory (£2400), and expected 1000 more frasUahs (£20,000) for the assistance he had given. Tlie Mohammedans were for the moment overpowered, but neither was their strength nor their spirit broken." 1 Mackay, letter of Jan. Ist, 1890. ^ Letter of Oct. 2l8t, 1889. 8 Afrasilah equals 35 lb. ENGLISH MISSIONS ARRIVE. 3 visit the country was Colonel Chaill^ Long, who was sent by Gordon in the summer of 1874. Stanley fol- lowed in 1875, and simultaneously Linant arrived in the country.^ In 1876 Gordon sent Emin with a party of soldiers to Mtesa s capital. They were for some time quartered there, and Gordon had views of aimexing Uganda to the Egyptian Sudan. In August, however, he proposed a treaty to Mtesa recognising his indepen- dence,^ and in September he finally closed all relations with Uganda and withdrew his troops.^ Stanley was even louder in his praises of Uganda than Speke had been, and described it as the " Pearl of Africa." In consequence of his appeal on behalf of the people, a fund was started, and missionaries were despatched to Uganda. These arrived in June 1877, travelling by the same route as Speke — through what is now German territory — -to the south of the lake. Her Majesty's Government distinctly authorised the despatch of this mission, and a letter to Mtesa from the Minister for Foreign Affairs was given to the party. The letter stated that the missionaries were not agents of the Government, but had its friendly support. Shortly afterwards a second batch started, and entered Uganda from the north, having travelled from Egypt vid the Nile ; they also had an official letter from the Foreign Office. Later the Consul at Zanzibar wrote to Mtesa (November 1879), to confirm the fact that these letters — noting especially Lord Salisbury's of May 1878 — emanated from the Government. Mtesa then sent envoys to the Queen, who received them in private audience. They returned with presents from England, being escorted by the missionaries both going and returning. It was a somewhat hazardous proceeding to establish a mission so far from all support in the very heart of ^ Gordon in Central Africa, p. 106. 2 ibid., p. 183. ^ ibid., p. 192. I I 4 EABLY HISTORY OF UGANDA. Africa ; and the missionaries state ^ that these letters from Government, though doubtless not written with any such intention, identified them in the eyes of Mtesa with the prestige of the British, and they were looked upon as having been sent by Government. The Consul at Zanzibar (Sir John Kirk), however, wrote pointing out the true significance of the letters, and repudiating any such interpretation. But these facts, which are emphasised by Mr Ashe,^ show that great encouragement was afforded by the Government at the initiation of the mission, which those who maintain that the Government is in no way responsible for the lives of the missionaries should not lose sight of. Some two years later — February 1879 — the French (R. Catholic) Algerian Mission despatched a party of "White Fathers'' to begin mission- work in Uganda. The religious differences between these two conflict- ing creeds, which marked the very inauguration of the R. Catholic mission,^ much puzzled and confused Mtesa, since both alike called themselves " Christians." The Arabs from the coast had already settled in Uganda, and brought with them the religion of Islam. In the time of Speke they had only one small settle- ment in the south .^f Buddu. Mtesa showed great toleration to all creeds, though at one time he had leaned to Mohammedanism, and had ordered all Uganda to embrace that creed. Shortly after, however, as the followers of Islam refused to eat the king s meat because it was not killed in the orthodox way according to the Koran, he ordered the massacre of all Mohammedans, and thus dealt a very severe blow to the progress of that creed. Mtesa was a cruel tyrant, and during his reign the land ran with blood ; but though instant execution was the pun- ^ Two Kings of Uganda, Ashe, p. 118 e^ seq, ^ Ibid., p. 119. 3 Mackay's Letters. J CO o so o o re;jfgious pebsecutions. o ishment meted out for the most trivial offences, and holocausts of victims were slaughtered upon occasion, he does not appear to have delighted in massacre from mere wanton pleasure in cruelty. Mtesa died in the autumn of 1884, and Mwanga, then about eighteen years old, succeeded him — being selected from among Mtesa's sons on account of his personal likeness to the late king, since in Uganda paternity is often difficult to prove. At this time the three religions had made great progress, and their disintegrating influences on the old customs began to be more and more apparent. This was especially the case with regard to the Chris- tians, who no longer regarded the king as divine, nor his acts, however gross or cruel, as having a divine sanction. They owned a Higher allegiance, though they remained obedient subjects, and distinguished themselves by bravery in war. Such an attitude was, of course, intolerable to a cruel despot like Mwanga, who revelled in the exercise of the grossest cruelties and in the open practice of obscene orgies. Moreover, the Arabs, who were opposed to the Europeans not only on religious grounds but also as possible rivals in trade, and because of their known antipathy to the slave-trade, poisoned the king's ears against the Christians and their teachers. There was still a further reason for suspicion and fear of the white men. Previous to this, the aggression of Egypt under Gordon in the Sudan had not been limited (as I have shown) to the Equatorial Province. The Egyptian flag had been hoisted at Mruli and Fauvera in Unyoro, only just beyond the borders of Uganda, and Gordon's envoys — Colonel Long and Emin — and his troops had pene- trated to Mtesa's capital.^ The Arabs also told of the doings of the Belgians on the Congo. At a later period reports reached Mwanga of German annexations in ^ Gordon in Africa, p. 182. 6 EARLY HISTORY OF UGANDA. Usagara on the East Coast. Last^ and most disturb- ing of all, was the news of Mr Thomson's arrival near Usoga in the East — the route from the coast by which native tradition said that the conquerors of Uganda would come.^ Mwanga had succeeded his father in November 1884. Early in 1885 he determined to stamp out those dan- gerous religions, Mohammedan and Christian alike, which were disintegrating his country. The mission- aries, Mackay and Ashe, were seized, and their followers persecuted. But the religion spread the more. A plot to depose Mwanga was discovered and crushed. With varying fortunes — sometimes treated leniently, some- times the victims of violent persecution — the mission- aries held their own till the autumn of 1885. Then, came news of Bishop Hannington's approach. Mackay and Ashe assured the king in the strongest terms that he had no intention of entering Usoga, or of coming j by that road which was vetoed by the tradition of Uganda ; but that his intention was to come only as far as the eastern shores of the lake, and thence to cross to Uganda by water. A boat was sent to take him from Kavirondo to the south of the lake, that he might arrive by the usual route. But the bishop had changed his plans, and though Mackay had assured the king he would not enter Usoga, news was sud- i denly received that he was at Luba's on the Nile, on the very threshold of Uganda. A more inoppor- tune moment could not have been selected, both on account of the persecution then taking place in the country, and on account of the disturbing news from various quarters concerning the aggression of the Europeans, to which I have alluded. Mwanga ordered him to be killed, and he and all his men were mur- dered in cold blood, October 1885. 1 Vide Life of Mackay, pp. 262, 413. '. PETEKS' ARRIVAL. 11 I The two Christian factions became daily more bitter ( and more jealous of each other, and were called the Wa-Ingleza and Wa-Fransa, or English and French. Mwanga espoused the " French " side, and was mainly / guided by P^re Lourdel. He himself was, however, anxious for Europeans to come and live in Uganda, thinking that they would help him if attacked, and that their prestige would keep him on his throne. In November the Mohammedans again defeated the Christians, who fled to the islands, but in the follow- ing February they were in turn attacked and driven out.^ Very shortly after this, at the end of February, Dr Carl Peters arrived in Uganda vid Usoga. He was in | command of the German " Emin Relief Expedition," but I hearing, in Usoga, that Emin was already rescued, he 5 came to Uganda, at the request of Mwanga and P^re ? Lourdel. Mr Jackson, with the Company's Expedition, ^; had arrived at Kavirondo, on the east coast of the lake, ' \ on Nov. 7th, 1889. He had left the coast before Dr ^ Peters, and, of course, long before Mr Stanley's return. Indeed the main object of his expedition had been to * try and get news of Stanley. His instructions were to make treaties with the native chiefs on behalf of the Company^ and to endeavour to procure as much ivory as possible to pay the expenses of his cara- van. He had, moreover, been told that he was not to go to Uganda. He had some 500 men, armed with Sniders ; but (as he says in his report) there was absolutely no discipline in his caravan. He found, on his arrival, the letters from Mwanga, dated I June 7th, which have already been alluded to, and i which were written at the time when the Mohamme- dans held the capital, and the Christians were fugi- tives in Ankoli, but had possession of the islands ^ Notes on Uganda, Roman Catholic Union, p. 14. 12 EARLY HISTORY OF UGANDA. and canoes. He heard verbal news, however, of a later date, giving the account of the victory of Oct. 4th, which had made the Christians supreme for the moment, though, as we have seen, they were again defeated and ousted in November — at the very time of his arrival in Kavirondo. He replied to the letters (Nov. 8th, 1889), specifying his instructions, and quoting the strength of his expe- dition. He added, however, that he would come if help was urgently needed, if the missionaries would guarantee that all expenses would be defrayed, and if the king would agree to place his country under the protection of the Company. He said that he would wait one month for a reply, and that he did not come at once because he had heard that since the letters were written the Christians had ousted the Moham- medans, and the missionaries were safe. In reply, Mr Jackson on Dec. 6th received a letter (dated Nov. 25th) imploring him to come, and saying that the Christians had suffered a reverse, and were probably about to take refuge in the islands. In this letter Mwanga made some vague statements about being '^ ready to do busi- ness," and Jackson inferred that no definite and clear promise was made regarding a treaty, owing to the adverse influence of Pere Lourdel. A subsequent letter, however, from Pere Lourdel himself (dated Dec. 1st), confirmed the news that the Christians had been again driven out of Uganda, and in the king's name implored the assistance of the British, offering a monopoly of trade, the acceptance of the British flag and protection, and a payment of 100 frasilahs of ivory (£2000), and free rations for the expedition. This letter, apparently, did not arrive till after Mr Jackson had marched north. The native left in charge in Kavirondo of course placed everything before Dr Peters on his arrival, who calmly proceeded Jackson's abrival. 13 to open all correspondence, and to utilise the informa- tion thus acquired ; and these letters, so obtained, he has since published.^ Mr Jackson replied to the letter of Nov. 25th that its terms were ambiguous ; — that the Christians and Europeans were not in actual danger, since they had a safe place of refuge in the islands ; — that there appeared small chance of recouping expenses ; — and as he could in no case stay on in Uganda, and judged that the Mahdists would probably join the Mohammedans (an idea apparently first put forward by Mackay), his 400 rifles would be of no permanent use. He doubted, moreover, if his Swahilis would fight against the Arabs. He sent, however, letters to be forwarded to the coast, and a flag ^^ as a guarantee of the Company's assistance." He left on Dec. 1 0th, and marched north to Ngoboto, to procure ivory and shoot elephants. His intentions there being frustrated from lack of food or guides, and some of his men having been murdered, he returned to Kavirondo on March 4th. He now found that Dr Peters had passed through on his way to Uganda ; and hearing that Mwanga had accepted the flag he had sent him, and that the Christians were again in the ascendant, he at once started for Uganda, to endeavour to frustrate any mis- chief Peters might do. On the way 100 of his men mutinied, and went back to Kavirondo. Later, hav- ing obtained news of a plan for a still more general mutiny, he secured their arms. He made friends with Wakoli of Usoga en ro^ite, and sent an expedition against his enemy Kivandi. On April 14th, 1890, he arrived in Mengo. The king had meanwhile made a loose treaty with Dr Peters, by which Uganda was to be free to the commerce of all nations, and to " accept the decrees of the Berlin Treaty." Peters, ^ New Light on Dark Africa, Peters, p. 318. 14 EABLY HISTORY OF UGANDA. however, appears to have become unpopular in Uganda, and his party having created some ill-feeling, he left for the south of the lake. Mwanga appeared disappointed at the small number of arms brought by Mr Jackson, and at the appearance his men presented — in contrast to the scarlet-and-gold lace of Dr Peters' escort. Jackson proposed a treaty, by which the customs and taxes should accrue to the Company (or they should have control of them), in return for which they would put the country " in a good defensible state," and garrison it with troops, and open a good road to the coast. This treaty does not ap- pear ever to have been drawn up in writing. Mwanga demurred, and Mr Jackson states that he was ap- parently a mere puppet in the hands of Pfere Lourdel, who was constantly with him, and appeared unwill- ing that Uganda should come under the Company's protection, though all agreed that protection was necessary. The R. Catholic Fathers, Jackson states, wanted Uganda to be thrown open to all nationalities, and arms introduced, " by which the people might defend themselves ; " forgetting, apparently, that the result of the introduction of firearms is usually to encourage natives to fight among themselves. The Fathers demanded to know from Mr Jackson what position they would hold in the country if the Company were paramount. I gather from this — but possibly the inference is incorrect — that, being at present sole advisers to the king, they would not be content with the position of simple missionaries. For Mr Jackson, in his report, says that, when replying to the French Fathers' queries, he did not think it advis- able to say that the king must be guided by the Company's agent. The result of these negotiations was that the Wa-Ingleza (or Protestant) party entirely agreed with Mr Jackson's proposals, while the Wa- Jackson's departure. 15 Fransa (or R, Catholics) insisted that the customs should be the right of the king. Mr Jackson was obdurate, and finally decided to return to the coast, arranging that his colleague, Mr Gedge, should remain to represent the Company with some thirty-five men, and all the available rifles (about 180) which Jackson could spare. These rifles he was to lend to the Waganda, to fight against the Mohammedans if nec- essary. A force would be sent up, and on its arrival a treaty should be signed. To this the Fi^ansa party demurred. The Wa- Ingleza then decided to leave the country with Mr Jackson, and six days were given them to prepare. On this the other faction also began to prepare for de- parture, being unable to withstand the Mohammedans alone. Finally, it seems to have been decided that Mr Jackson should take a representative of each faction with him, to ascertain whether Uganda was to be French or English, and to state their case to the higher au- thorities. Messrs Gordon and Gedge demurred to this course, which was, however, finally adopted. A com- fortable house was built for Mr Gedge in a plantation assigned by the king, and on May 1 4th Mr Jackson left, his caravan being in great straits for food. The day before his departure, Pfere Lourdel, whom he had accounted his inveterate opponent, died. Jackson states that it was supposed that there was a considerable amount of ivory buried in Uganda, most of which belonged to the Fransa party. This ivory was only to be disposed of for arms and powder, and he believed that if the Wa-Fransa acquired these arms they would attack their rivals. Gedge had instructions to retire to Usoga with the Wa-Ligleza, rather than allow the Christians to come to blows. He adds it as his opinion that 500 drilled and disci- plined soldiers and 16 Europeans were required to hold 16 EARLY HISTOBY OF UGANDA. the country, and Gedge was instructed to buy off Stokes sooner than allow him to sell arms in Uganda. By September 1890 Jackson had reached the Ki- bwezi ; our expedition was meanwhile travelling up by the Sabakhi, and as he took the Taru route, we missed each other. A copy of his report was, however, sent to me later, together with my orders to go to Uganda, and I had now an opportunity of reading carefully through his account of recent occurrences. The position in Uganda was thus described in my " Instructions " from Sir F. De Wintori, Administrator- General : — "4. The situation as regards Uganda is as follows: Mwanga has very little real authority ; the two parties — Protestant and R. Catholic — are only kept from fighting each other by want of ammunition and by fear of the Mohammedan party, who are still on the borders. Mwanga's hope is Stokes, who has prom- ised to bring him large quantities of ammunition, powder, and breech - loading cartridges. With these Mwanga, it is believed, is going to arm the E. Catholics, and drive the Pro- testants out. He does not wish to make any treaties. I think this programme is the offspring of P^re Lourdel, who had great influence over Mwanga ; but from what Jackson says, Mwanga is utterly unreliable and cares only for himself." I w^as directed to offer to Mwanga "guarantees of peace in his kingdom," and to " impress him with a sense of the power of the Company," and '^ exercise a steady pressure upon him," with a view to securing " a control of all White affairs in the country." While exercising the strictest impartiality towards both fac- tions, and assuring all of religious freedom and tolera- tion, I was to '^ consolidate the Protestant party " if the others proved intractable. Such were the data and instructions upon which I had to act. They presented to my mind the follow- ing conclusions : — PERSONAL VIEWS. 17 1. That Mwanga was an irresolute and cowardly tyrant, who had exercised such cruelty and despotism as had caused his people of all persuasions to oust him from his throne ; and that now, by means of intrigue and cunning, he was endeavouring to acquire an ascendancy and power similar to that which he had forfeited. Mr Jackson had narrated how he had been catechised as to the number of guns he possessed ; and Mwanga's sole object in dealing with Europeans appeared to consist in a hope that, by playing them off against each other, he would be able to secure presents of arms from both factions, and temporary assistance against his enemies, while he refrained from giving any equivalent. He appeared to be wholly in the hands of the French Fathers, whose counsels, from Mr Jackson's story, would appear to be hostile to the objects which I had been sent to achieve. 2. I was emphatically told that the two Christian factions were animated by the most deadly hatred of each other, and that war had been imminent between them for some time. The prevalent idea appeared to be that fighting was only being postponed in con- sequence of the pressing danger from the Moham- medans. The solution which had been accepted was that, in case of an outbreak, the "English" party should abandon the country, and retire under Mr Gedge to Usoga. This, however, being a populous country, intensely hostile to Uganda (though in sub- jection to it), the influx of several thousand Waganda would undoubtedly be the signal for war, and the peo- ple of the country must be dispossessed and driven out or killed, to make room for the "Protestant" chiefs and their great following. While on this subject, I may here state my own opinion on such a course. Deplorable as a war be- tween nominally Christian factions would be, and great VOL. II. B 18 EARLY HISTORY OF UGANDA. as would be the responsibility which the representative of British authority would incur before Europe should it break out, I fail to see the justice or morality of avoiding the scandal, by allowing one or other faction to bring an equally terrible war on a neighbouring- country, and to dispossess them of their lands to make room for converts and their following, on the plea that thev are not so-called " Christians." I fail to see the justice of inciting either faction to desert their country because of the a^^OTession of the other, merelv to avoid the scandal of a war between "converts." To mv mind it appears — narrow and opinionated though the view may seem to some of my critics — that if a religious antipathy had been allowed by those who introduced religion to grow up between the Christians, it were more fitting that the rivals should fight, than that they should sacrifice neighbouring peoples to their mutual animosities, and allow Uganda to become the | prey of the Mohammedan party, unchecked by any control, and hostile to all European influence. I think it a more worthy course for him who should have the control, of affairs to face this responsibility and the accusations of the losing side, rather than effect a plausible settlement at the sacrifice of a people who, being heathen, and without mission -advocates, have no one to urge their wrongs in the European press. 3. From the information at my disposal it appeared evident that, if the Wa-Ingleza left the country the others would not even attempt to withstand the Moham- medans, but would In turn retire in another direction. 4. I was emphatically warned that the trader Mr Stokes was bringing up large consignments of arms ; that Mwanga having identified himself with the " French " party, intended to purchase these, and give them exclusively to his own faction, and so overpower the others. I N, PERSONAL VIEWS. 19 5. That the Wa-Fransa and the Fathers were hostile to British influence, while the Wa-Ingleza and their missionaries were eaofer for it. 6. That the Mohammedan party were equal in strength to the two Christian factions combined, and that victory between these opposing bands had been pretty equally divided. Moreover, that there was a fear of the former coalescing with the Mahdists to the north, and that Kabarega with all Unyoro was in league with them. My reader will, I think, admit that the position was a difficult and delicate one. The immediate necessities of the case appeared to me to be : (1.) To obtain a treaty from the king and chiefs which should give me an acknowledged and legal status in the country to deal with these troubles. Without this, any action I took would be mere filibustering. It would be open to Mwanga, when I had rendered him any assistance in my power, to profit by my work, and repudiate, as was his nature, any obligation. Moreover, I had been specially sent to Uganda by the Company to make a treaty in pursuance of the Anglo-German agreement of July 1st, 1890. But it appeared to me on arrival that the position and power of the king and chiefs had been altoorether misconceived. Doubtless in former times there was good reason to describe the " Kabaka " as a man of enormous power ; but writing in the middle of 1889, when Uganda was much as I found it, Mr Ashe speaks in the most exaggerated terms of the great king, and styles the chiefs of provinces — some of them very petty — the *' haughty earls," and the Katikiro as the ''Lord High Chancellor" of Uganda! Con- sequently Sir F. De Winton had given me no more definite instructions regarding the treaty, than that it should ensure my having *' control of all White affiairs." Previous instructions from the Directors, how- 20 EARLY HISTORY OF UGANDA. ever, had been more explicit, intimating that I was to obtain an understanding that Uganda was under the protection of the Company, and I had been continually impressed with the necessity of covering expenses. (2.) It appeared to me of vital importance to prevent the importation of arms, &c., into Uganda at the pres- ent moment. (3.) As regards the animosity of the French Fathers and the " French " party, I determined to maintain an open mind, and, if I possibly could, to convert them into friends and allies. It was obvious that they were regarded with suspicion and distrust (probably recip- rocal) by the English missionaries and their converts ; but since Mr Jackson had largely derived his impres- sions from these sources, and as it was from the letters of the missionaries in Uganda that the same conclusions had been arrived at in England and on the coast, I hoped that possibly I might not find them so inimical to my mission as they had been described. I do not mean to infer that these views and conclusions were as clearly defined in my mind when I entered Uganda as I now set them down, but I have somewhat fully described the nature of the information at my disposal, and the position of affairs on my arrival. The events of the first few days enabled me rapidly to form opin- ions for myself. I judged it best, in the first place, to adopt a firm and independent tone, being convinced that, to such a character as I supposed Mwanga to be, a deferential attitude would be interpreted as fear ; and that if w^e showed too great anxiety to please, and were ready to supplicate for a treaty in formd pauperis^ we should only pander to his vanity, and render him the more unamenable and haughty. Such an attitude suited neither my conceptions of my duty nor my own in- clinations. I ARRIVE IN UGANDA. 21 As a result of international negotiation, Uganda and the countries round about had been ceded to the in- fluence of Great Britain. I, myself an officer of the army, had been deputed, as the representative of a great chartered Company, to make a treaty with a semi- savage king noted for his cruelty and incapacity. I sought no unfair advantage, no acquisition of territory, no monopoly of trade, no annexation of revenues. My task was to save the countrv from itself : and for such a treaty as I proposed to make, I saw no need to stoop to bargaining by presents (of arms, a Maxim gun, &c., as had at first been suggested), and no cause for obeisance or deference. It was for this reason, as well as to hasten my arrival before any crisis between the factions took place, or the expected munitions reached Uganda, that I crossed the Nile without waiting for permission, and, marching rapidly on the capital, selected my own camping-ground. Mackay and Ashe relate how they knelt before the king, when praying for permission to leave the country. Such an attitude seemed to me to lower the prestige of Europeans, and I determined to make my own methods the more marked by contrast. I had at my disposal on entering Uganda about 270 porters, some of them brave good fellows, but wholly undisciplined, and very excitable, — difficult to control in action and liable to panic ; — others absolutely useless for fighting. Roughly speaking, perhaps one -third might be set down as good, one-third as indifferent, and one -third as useless. I had extremely little ammunition, that in the pouches of the men having quite perished in the long march from the coast. My total reserve (some of which was also in very bad condition) consisted of only some eleven rounds per man, with four boxes of Maxim ammunition, and one of Winchester (with which rifles the Europeans, Shukri, 22 EARLY HISTORY OF UGANDA. and Dualla were armed). The Maxim was worn out, and I had no confidence in it, — indeed it subsequently broke down radically when fired. I had also some 50 Sudanese and Somals, most of whom were brave and reliable men, and to some extent disciplined ; but I could not speak their language, and relied on my factotum, Dualla, to interpret my orders to them. While Mr Jackson had therefore the advantage over me in numbers, and in an adequate supply of ammuni- tion, I had not had to face the same spirit of mutiny and insubordination with which he had to contend. There was a most excellent feeling throughout the cara- van, and all were willing and loyal. Moreover, I had this incalculable advantage, that I brought in my pocket a copy of the Anglo -German agreement, by which Uganda was ceded to the exclusive influence of Great Britain. In pursuance of my intention to let the king see that I did not consider myself at his orders, I sent a message on arrival, thanking him for his welcome, and saying that, as I was tired and had much work to do, 1 would defer seeing him till next day (Dec. 19th); nor did I hasten even then on arrival of his messengers, but went at my leisure. I have lately read Speke's account of his first inter- view with Mtesa, and was amused to fin^ how he too had insisted on asserting his " social prestige," thirty years before me ! I could not attempt much pomp and display — though I knew that appearance counted for much among these people — for it will be remembered that I had originally come to East Africa for eight weeks only, and for my health ; and my few clothes were literally in rags, owing to my usually having been the pioneer through the long grass and scrub, and the very great amount of additional walking through all kinds of jungle, which I had done when hunting game. THE WAGANDA OF TO-DAY. 23 I, however, had a pair of comparatively sound Melton cords, w^hich for ten years had accompanied my travels ; and a jacket of a sleeping suit, fitted with brass buttons, ensured at least respectability. Unlike Speke's days, when the king and chiefs were all dressed in mhugus (bark -cloth), with jackets of beautifully tanned and sewn antelope-skins, the Waganda of position are in the present day clothed in soft linen, which they keep as spotlessly white as though washed by a London laun- dress. Some affect jackets or waistcoats of black or coloured stuffs, and a small piece of cloth is worn, tur- ban-fashion, on the head. They retain their national sandals, beautifully made of hippo-hide, coloured and adorned with devices, with a band of otter- fur over the instep, — the king alone having leopard-skin. The lesser people dress in bark-cloth, dyed a bright brick- red, and ribbed with longitudinal lines by the pur- posely-grooved mallets with which, in its last stage, it is beaten out. Every smallest rent or frayed piece, however minute, is cut out, and a tiny bit inserted with such admirable skill that the join is almost imperceptible. In writing this book I purposely quote extracts from my diary, descriptive of any particular scene or event. I do so in the rough and hasty language in which one writes one's diaries, for I think that the verbatim account of an incident, written while the scene was vivid in one's memory, with no idea that it would ever be quoted or read, is in a sense a guarantee against the unconscious colouring or exaggeration of which it is not uncommon to accuse 'travellers tales." Here, then, is the picture of the Uganda baraza (or durbar), as my diary has it : — *'I took a dozen Sudanese with me, and their * pre- sent arms' and bugle-flourish made my show in this respect nearly as good as the king's. He has quite a 24 EARLY HISTORY OF UGANDA. band of dinims and other kinds of noise to herald the approach of a visitor, and these all struck up just as I drew up my little Sudanese guard, and 'presented.' They then remained close outside facing the haraza- door. I found the king in the durbar-hut, surrounded by a mass of humanity, packed in every cubic inch of space in the {not very large) hut. I entered and sat on my chair on his right, taking care not to tread on his carpet — for I had luckily been warned, and could see that he was nei-vously anxious I should not do so. I shook hands cor- dially and frankly with him (for till now I had no idea he was the mur- derer of Hanning- ^ ton — I thought it was his father Mtesa). He is a ^ young man, whose '; * features are ne- , groid, but show traces of Wahuma blood ; his face betokens irresolu- tion, a weak char- MwANGA, kabaka (King) OF UGANDA. acter, anu a good deal of sensual- ity. I produced my three letters, two from Mr Mac- kenzie and one from Sir F. De Winton. He said, ' Wait till the white men come.' I replied that I had brought letters for the king himself, and would read them without waiting, I did so, the letters being translated into simple English by me, into Swahili by Dualla, and into Kiganda by the interpreter (or at least some parts only, for Mwanga professes to know Swahili). I bad just finished, when, to my surprise. THE king's BARAZA. 25 the Revs. Walker and Gordon were ushered in. I had suggested all the Europeans being there, but the priests had declined, on the ground that they would take no further part in politics, and it was therefore agreed that Gordon and Walker should not come either. I suppose the king sent specially for them. They were asked again to translate the letters, which they did. "The court was crowded with R. Catholics, all in nervous anxiety to hear what I would say. The Protes- tants, fancying, I suppose, that they were on the safe side, had only come in very small numbers. When the letters were finished, I said several times that I had come in the hope of bringing peace to the country, and of settling all disputes, — that I had come with full powers to make treaties, &c., and not merely (as Jack- son had) at the invitation of the king, without definite instructions from England. I said I had been sent at the special wish of the Directors in England, many of whom were my friends, and I knew all the words of the letters to be their words. I had to make a sreat point of this, because I saw that the king thought a letter written at the coast was quite inferior to one from England, and that was his first question. Alto- gether, my interview was very difierent from what Jackson describes his to have been. On arrival I got a polite message of welcome, and was not sent for till to-day, when I had myself intimated that I would come and see the king, if he would send when he was ready. He asked no impertinent questions as to the number of my men and guns, &c. When these prelim- inaries were finished, I said I would like to introduce Dualla and Shukri, which I did (De Winton was ill, and Grant stayed to look after camp, so I was alone). Shukri had a full suit of brand-new uniform, and * took the cake ' entirely, looking very smart. . . . " I then said I had come merely to pay salaams, &c., and would talk of other matters by-and-by. There 26 EARLY HISTORY OF UGANDA. was very great relief and joy in the court at there being no mention in the letters or by me of a flag. It appears they are nervously afraid of a flag, understanding that it means that they give away their country, and the Wa-Fransa are prepared possibly to fight sooner than accept it. I am told they have especially noticed the contrast in this respect between others and myself. Peters, Jackson, the French and Germans, all have talked of nothing but a flag. But in my camp they see the colours of each batch of men flying over the *camp' of the headman — the Sudanese with theirs, the big camp flags marking out camp, and no Com- pany's flag flying at all ! I had forgotten this last ; our line-of-march one is utterly worn out, and I am not sure where I put the new ones. This being so, and the country being already ceded to British influence by international agreement, I do not intend to make any childish fuss about the flag. If I can get a treaty, the flag will come of its own accord, and at their own re- quest later on. " The king gave an order in court to send me food for my men. It is the custom, I believe, for the king to dismiss the haraza, but I asked Gordon if I should transgress greatly by taking my own congS, and he said he thought not. So I rose, and said I had finished my words for to-day ; and with great cordiality and many aksantis (thank you) and hand -shakings I left, and the king and court rose and left by the other door. This was a final assertion that I was my own master, and, of course, though I have taken this somewhat in- dependent attitude, I have been at great pains to show- that it does not arise from mere bravado, or a wish to wound the susceptibilities of the king. . . . " I had many visitors in camp, all the big chiefs coming and making salaams. To all of them alike I showed all the courtesy and frankness I could, espe- cially acknowledging to the B. Catholic chief that he PROMULGATE TREATY. 27 was the very first to come, and thanking him for it. I told them all the same thing — that my errand was to bring peace, not war, that I hoped to arrange disputes satisfactorily, and that to me all were exactly alike — R. Catholics, Protestants, and every one. Mwanga's haraza was stifling. It was a curious assemblage ; there were uniforms of all kinds and classes, many naval (of difierent nationalities), and Peters' scarlet- and-gold dress, with gold-laced fez cap, was resplen- dent on the Head of the Army." I now went to call on the French Fathers, and to explain to them the conditions of the treaty which I meant to propose, and to ask their co-operation and goodwill. I was, however, somewhat disappointed to find that, instead of showing a keen interest in the treaty in so far as it would affect the welfare of Uganda, "they would go off into this or that side question, and details about themselves and their lib- erties." They asked me to fully explain every clause on paper, and I worked hard at night doing this (of this and all other correspondence I have copies). It involved many pages of foolscap, and I sent it all, mutatis mutandis, to the English missionaries. I then sat by De Winton, who was ill, till the small hours of the morning. Next day (20th) was occupied in laying out a large and well-arranged camp, cleaning the paths through it, &c., in receiving visits, and replying to letters, and completing the statement re the treaty for the Euro- peans,— French and English. The 21st was Sunday, and the peculiar hush and stillness of the day was very marked. The Protestants were anxious that I should discuss the treaty with them, but I requested the mis- sionaries of either faction to be kind enough to explain to their respective parties all I had written. There were among the chiefs of Uganda several men, belonging to each faction, who spoke Swahili with abso- 28 EARLY HISTORY OF UGANDA. lute fluency. With these I was able to converse, and explain my ideas. When a large party of chiefs were present (as subsequently when I endeavoured to arrange the various grievances and quarrels), these men listened intently, and if my interpreter (a Zanzibari, who was by birth a Mganda) rendered any phrase I had used in a way they did not think exactly accurate, they woidd at once appeal to me to ascertain if that was my meaning. As a matter of fact, however, during the whole time I was in Uganda, my interpreter — Juma Hassani — was acknowledged by all parties to be a most literal and excellent one. One of these Swahili - speaking chiefs — Cyprien the "Kauta" (an officer of the royal household) — became a very great friend of mine. He was a R. Catholic, and by his exertions and friend- ship I was enabled to get more in touch with his party. On the 22d I received a long reply fi-om the French PROMULGATE TREATY. 29 bishop, in which he promised co-operation, but (as in the previous conversation) disregarded all the salient points of the treaty, as it affected the peace and set- tlement of the country, and confined his queries main- ly to points affecting themselves — viz., as to whether mission servants could retain their arms, &c. I wrote him a full reply. Finding that the Fathers had not read the treaty to their party, I assembled the Wa- Fransa chiefs and explained it to them. Meanwhile I had written to Stokes, prohibiting his bringing arms, &c., to Uganda, and warning him that it was con- trary to the agreements, and to the regulations now in force. Bishop Tucker and his party, who had started from the coast in July, had not yet arrived. Mr Gedge, after Jackson had left, had passed a very disagreeable time indeed in Uganda. " He said he had led the life of a dog. The king had insulted and mocked him in court, and had thwarted him in every way. That the French priests hated him intensoJty, and the bishop had shown great enmity towards him. His last letter had remained unanswered, and unacknowledged even " (diary). He had, in fact, found that life in Uganda, under the circumstances in which he was placed, was intolerable ; and I do not wonder at it. Early in August he had gone to the south of the lake, and had been absent ever since. When he eventually returned at the end of December, he was warned that no one wanted him back in Uganda, and if he came he would be murdered. He had been anxious to return before this, but obstacles had been placed in his way, for naturally the Germans were not averse to keeping him out of Uganda pending the result of the negotiations in Europe. He was, however, treated courteously by them. On receipt of the Anglo-German agreement the way was made easy for his return ; but had its terms been other than they were — Gedge being at the south 30 EARLY HISTORY OF UGANDA. of the lake, while Emin was at Bukoba, on the south _ frontier of Uganda — it would have been easy for the Germans to have stepped in and gained a footing and a treaty, while prior British efforts would have been nullified, and resulted only in collapse and failure. No sooner, however, was the agreement received, than Emin sent him canoes, and offered to assist him in every way in his power, — hoping that the Germans and English would co-operate and work cordially together. His Excellency, whom Gedge described as the most charm- ing man he had ever met, promised his assistance in pre- venting arms and ammunition from reaching Uganda. For this purpose, the station he had just built at Bukoba on the lake shore was especially adapted. Before leaving the country Gedge had issued to the Waganda the 180 Snider rifles left by Jackson, in case the Mohammedans should attack, together with a very great quantity of ammunition. This I deplored in the present critical state of affairs, and I requested him to recall them at once. As his position was not clearly defined with regard to myself, he voluntarily placed himself under my orders, and thereby was relieved of all responsibility, for which, in his shattered state of health, he was no longer fit. He had scruples about returning to the coast, lest he should appear to be running away from his duty. I therefore suggested this course, and at once ordered him to go. The strain had been too great, and he was in a state of complete nei*vous prostration, and in addition to this he suffered intense pain in his eyes, which prevented sleep, and he had nearly succumbed to violent fever at the south of the lake. There were other difficulties, too, at this time. " Food is getting a difficult question — not nearly enough to feed the men comes in now, and I am drawing on my store," I write. " The day before our GEDGE — STUHLMANN. 3 1 arrival a civil war very nearly broke out. A report had been spread * that I was coming to massacre the Wa-Fransa, or drive them out of the country, and they were on the point of fighting. Even now I don't know when a storm may break. The Mohammedans raided close to here the other day. I am in a regular wasps' nest here, and the commander of such an expedition has not a bed of roses. My men daily lose cartridges — sell them, I suppose — but the loss of a single one now involves deprivation of the rifle and ammunition, and as they are counted at morning roll-call every day, and all men without guns are kept at extra work, they are beginning to see that the game is not good enough, and to-day there are no deficiencies." Such is my com- ment in my private diary on the 22d. Grant helped me very greatly with the men, but took no part what- ever in the affairs of Uganda, nor did Gedge or De Winton, who were ill. So the work was very heavy upon me. At this time Dr Stuhlmann, Emin's lieutenant, arrived in Uganda with friendly messages to Mwanga, and a present. His ostensible reason was the purchase of canoes, but I think he omitted to take them away. Subsequent events compelled me to conclude that Emin wished for news of the position of affairs in Uganda, and to know whether I was likely to have my hands fully occupied here, so as not to interfere with his pro- jected expedition toward the Albert Lake. Dr Stuhl- mann was ignorant of Emin's plans, and probably knew nothing of the real reason why he was sent to Uganda. We were excellent friends, and he offered to help me in any way in his power — as, for instance, by publicly confirming my words to the king regarding the Anglo- German agreement, by which Uganda was ceded to British influence. I should have been inclined to pass in briefer review 32 EARLY HISTORY OF UGANDA. the details of this period, but I have given a somewhat full account (though nothing like the detail afforded by my diary and letter-books), because I think that if I can present to my reader a clear statement of the position I found in Uganda on my first arrival as the agent of the Imperial British East African Company, the events which followed will be more easily understood. I am not concerned here to defend myself from charges made against me by the R. Catholics of France and England, but the reader may incidentally gather that it is not quite correct to say that "aU was peace till Captain Lugard came with his Maxim gun." On the 23d I write as follows : " It is desperately anxious work. We are on the very eve of war. The R. Catholics won't sign the treaty, and things look bad. Food is scarcer every day. ... I have very little am- munition, and am not sure about the working of the Maxim gun. I have given so little encouragement to the Protestants that they too are very disappointed, and talk of leaving the country, for I have spoken of going away if the treaty is not signed. I do not want them to think that I have come to fight the Protestant cause, and I do not want the Protestants to exasperate the others by showing that they think the game is all on their side. At the same time I told the priests that, if the king would not sign, I should call on the chiefs to do so. . . . It would not be my fault if only Protestants came forward, for I was equally friendly with both, and offered all of them the same rights, &c. So the Protestants look crestfallen, and are not brag- ging or exasperating the R. Catholics ; and the latter are scared at the possibility of my joining their rivals." I have little doubt, also, that my threat to go to Ka- barega of Unyoro — Mwanga's bitter enemy — and so transfer the seat of administration from Uganda, had a considerable effect. 33 CHAPTER XXIII. PRELIMINARY WORK IN UGANDA.^ Treaty presented — Excitement in haraza — Christmas night — Treaty signed — The Kauta — Cause of Mwanga's alarm — Attack threatened — Missions attempt solution — Strained relations — Lists of grievances — Emiu in- vited— Gedge leaves — Position again critical — News of Williams — False reports — Better feeling among chiefs — I refuse to pay taxes — French missions and slave - women — Slavery vei'sits morals — Compulsory religion — Purchase of children — Amval of Williams — Kampala fort completed. On the 24th Dec. I was to present the treaty. The chiefs had a very long council together first, and agreed to sign it ; then there was a little delay, and the king broke up the haraza. I objected somewhat sharply to having come in vain, and they apologised, and fixed the haraza for the afternoon. 1 went at 3 p.m. with De Winton. I read the treaty through, sentence by sen- tence, putting it in simple English, and Dualla rendered it most admirably in Swahili — one or other of the chiefs repeating it in Kiganda. Much discussion and even up- roar arose at times, but I insisted on reading it right through, and that discussion should then take place afterwards. " There were several questions asked — all most shrewd and intelligent, for these people are * Throughout the following chapters the faction of a chief is denoted by the letters E. or F. after his name for clearness : thus Katikiro (£.) or Kimbugwe (P.) denotes that they belonged respectively to the Ingleza (English) and Fransa (French) parties. VOL. II. C 34 PRELIMINARY WORK IN UGANDA. very clever. In the first place, they wished to sign on the proviso that these messengers confirm what I have said regarding the decision in Europe, that Uganda * follows England ' " (diary). There was no real neces- sity for this, except to reopen the whole matter, for the French Fathers had seen the Anglo-German Agree- ment, and Dr Stuhlmann, the German, corroborated it. 1 also feared that — as there were, I was told, three messengers, one from the king and one from each party — the representatives of the king and " French " party might not speak truly, since of course their faction was opposed to British influence. I doubted, moreover, whether at the coast such a question would have been fully explained to the envoys. The second question raised was, whether the tribu- tary states should still pay tribute to Mwanga. I wished to avoid the settlement of this point until I had a more thorough knowledge of the position of these states. For at first glance it seemed to me some- what unfair, that states which derived no benefit of any sort or kind from Uganda should pay tribute, more especially, when the state claiming suzerainty was now too weak to enforce it. Moreover, if I assented, Mwan- ga might not unjustly call upon me, in fulfilment of my pledges of co-operation, to assist him with my rifles to recover tribute from such states. Usoga I would (at that time at any rate) have liked to see independent. Wakoli and others of its principal chiefs had welcomed us, and treated us with the utmost hospitality, and I should be loth to invade his country to compel tribute to a tyrant like Mwanga. Other states, like Unyoro, had long since thrown oflP the yoke ; and if, by the agency of the Company, such autonomous king- doms were brought under British administration, any surplus revenue should go to the administration, and not into Mwanga's coffers. Other states, again, like EXCITEMENT IN BARAZA. 35 Karagwe, Usui, Uziba, and Uzinga/ were now in Ger- man territory. After some discussion, I insisted on the king's sign- ing the treaty, because the chiefs were ready to sign, and in their hands the real executive power lay ; for when the Christians had reinstated Mwanga, they had done so, I understood, on the proviso, that henceforth the real authority in the country should be vested in themselves, since Mwanga had been found incapable of doing justice. " Mwanga shuffled and begged for de- lay. I was determined, and threatened to leave the country and go to Kabarega of Unyoro (hostile to Uganda). The king was in a state of great excite- ment and fear, for he was under the absurd impression that if he signed he would become a mere slave. At last he said he would sign. Then a clamour arose from the crowd at the door, who said, I believe, that they would shoot the white men and those who signed. [These were probably the set of bhang-smokers and rowdies whom Mwanga kept about his place to pander to his vices, and who subsequently caused trouble.] De Winton says he twice heard a man cock his gun, and all say they began putting in cartridges. I did not notice or understand their actions. Mwanga again hesitated, and I could see was really in a state of great anxiety and terror. Contrary to one of the strictest customs in Uganda, every chief had come with his loaded rifle into the 6ara2:a-house prepared for eventu- alities. Had one rowdy let off his gun there would have been a terrible m^Ue in the little hut ! while out- side great numbers of the hostile faction had collected. I saw that it would be unwise to press the matter fiirther at that moment, so I said that next day, being Christmas, we would do no work, but the day after I must have his reply." Such is the account in my diary. ^ Mackay, letter of Jan. Ist, 1890. 36 PRELIMINAKY WORK IN UGANDA. All that night there was much noise and shouting, and I was told that men cried in the streets that they would kill all Europeans. There was a full moon, on which indeed I had calculated, not knowing what was before me in Uganda, and dreading a night attack with my undisciplined and unreliable men. To avail myself of this also, I had hurried my march to the capital. The Ingleza or Protestant party spoke of leaving the country. On Christmas Day I went and called on P^re Brard. " We were most friendly, but he can only say one thing — viz., Poli-poli (* gently, gently'). I said. Yes, I had no intention of hasty measures ; but this treaty was a sine qud non, which I must have signed at once, and then I could do the rest quietly. I said the king and R. Catholic chiefs had all begged for delay that they might ask the priests' advice, and that on their reply depended peace or war ; . . . nor was it my fault (supposing all the Protestants signed, and the R. Catholics did not) that I should appear to take the side of a party." For at this time I sup- posed the factions to be about numerically equal, and I conceived that I had as distinct a duty towards the half of the population who were eager for British protection, as towards those who were eager for French influence. " I pointed out, too, that it was impossible I should stop long as I was at present. Food was not available in sufficient quan- tities for the daily issue, and my little stock was all but exhausted. My men, left in idleness, would cause trouble with the women and by pilfering food, and I could not consent to let them get utterly de- moralised while these people talked. I want an answer regarding this treaty, and I must have it. We parted most cordially " (diary). Things looked very dubious, and made me anxious, for the responsibility that rested on my sole judg- CHRISTMAS NIGHT, 1890. 37 rnent was very great. Gedge set out a magnificent Christmas dinner, and produced even champagne ! We had not seen or tasted spirits or wine for very- long. Dr Stuhlmann, P^re Brard, the English mis- sionaries, De Winton and Grant, were there. I ex- cused myself, for I could not leave my camp at such a moment. No one else, I think, was aware of the real gravity of the situation. Mean- while, I thought that not improbably I might eifect much by a private interview with Mwanga, and by reassuring him and explaining things quietly ; but Mr Gor- don warned me that he thought it not improba- ble Mwanga might raur- f. de winton. der me, in hopes that if he did so all my men would fly in panic. However, " I went to the king. I had some four or five men with me. As I passed through the entrance the royal drums boomed out, and while my message was being taken, men with guns began to slip in on all sides. ... So I sent another message to say, that as the drums had beaten, it was no longer private. I would not come. He had sent to say he would see me, but we went away. There was a chuckle and a suppressed jeer among the rabble as we went, till Dualla turned and faced them, and they stopped. ... I wrote a note to Gedge at the dinner in which I wished the French and German guests all the season's compliments, and a safe return to Europe when their work was done, and a happy and 38 PRELIMINABY WORK IN UGANDA. peaceful Christmas to the English, and I said a few words in praise of Gedge's pluck. I then sent for the Kimbugwe (head chief of the R. Catholics)." After a long speech, this worthy told me that the chiefs of his party had agreed to sign the treaty, provided the envoys, who had gone to the coast with Jackson, confirmed my news about Uganda being under British influence. All was still and quiet, and there seemed no disturb- ance afoot ; so, hurriedly eating a mouthful of food, I went over (though it was now late) to pay my respects to Gedge's guests, lest my absence should be misinter- preted. I was received most cordially, and had a long chat with Brard about their mission, &c., also with Stuhlmann. Next day (26th) the treaty was to be signed at 8 A.M. I waited anxiously till 9.30, when I concluded they had changed their minds, and I must prepare for the worst. " Then I saw the durbar break up, and a great crowd coming out, and I got a message that they would come and sign here, and go to the king afterwards. All the biggest chiefs came into my camp (not a gun of any sort among them), and I sat them down on a tarpaulin at the tent door. There was much speechifying, and then they said they would sign, provided they were allowed to write a codicil, and I would sign that and give it to them. This they wrote themselves.^ I was also to observe the compact which they had made between them- selves while in exile in Ankoli. This, they said, only related to religious toleration, and as they assured me there was nothing in it contrary to my treaty, I agreed. Then we went to the king, that he might sign first. De Winton came with me, and three or four Askari only. Grant remained in camp, with orders to send all Sudanese and four batches of the ^ Vide treaty, Blue-book Africa. TEEATY SIGNED. 39 porters to our assistance in case he heard firing, and hold the camp with the other two batches and the Maxim, which he was to use freely if required. For the chiefs still spoke of some bad men of whom they seemed much afraid. It appears, as far as I can under- stand, that there really is a rabble of whom the king and all are afraid. They are, I believe, a drunken bhang -smoking lot of blackguards, and it was they who threatened to shoot if the treaty was signed on the 23d. I wanted the Katikiro and Kimbugwe to accom- pany me as a precaution. They said they would, but the little Kauta was the only one who stuck close by us all the time. He is a right good fellow, and I am most glad he is a R. Catholic, because now if I utilise him I can't be accused of partiality " (diary). On the way the king sent a message warning me not to come, as " bad men " had determined to murder me. I looked on this merely as a way of putting me off, and re- plied I had started and would not turn back. The king was almost alone, but one by one, by various entrances, as though secretly, all the big chiefs of Uganda came in, till the durbar was complete. The king heard the codicil read. He then asked for a present, as I had given him none. I said I would do so when the loads Stokes had brought to the south of the lake could be fetched up, and asked for canoes for the purpose. This defeated him. Then he raised the question again of the tributary states. I said I had made no statement one way or the other in the treaty, and refused to do so till I should understand the question. " Then the king told some one to sign for him. I would not have this, and insisted on his making a mark. He did it with a bad grace, just dashing the pen at the paper and making a blot; but I made him go at it again, and on the second copy he behaved himself and made a proper cross. Then one of the Fransa chiefs, who could 40 PRELIMINARY WORK IN UGANDA. write, wrote Mwanga's name opposite the mark, and several of the head chiefs also signed, but they took very long struggling with the letters of their names." I was most delighted that all had ended so well. It was just eight weeks since I had left Dagoreti (where I got my orders to go to Uganda), and we had arrived, and the treaty was signed. We left the haraza " to find there was perfect quiet outside, and not an angry and excited mob, as I had expected." In order to explain the attitude of Mwanga, it is necessary to bear in mind the character of the man. It were easy to quote from Mackay, Ashe, Casati, and others, descriptions of the diabolical cruelties he had practised, but I think it unnecessary to do so after having already briefly described the burning alive of Christians, and the persecutions extending over four years. Men were slowly hacked to pieces, each member being thrown into the fire, and lastly their mutilated yet living limbless trunks. Besides this, Mwanga s court was the public scene of all the vices of Sodom and Gomorrah — vices not indigenous, I believe, amongst African tribes, and the result of contact with coast people. He had been ousted by the unanimous action of all parties, and this, I am told, constituted by the law of Uganda a complete forfeiture of his title to the succession. Such was the man I had to deal with. His dominant motive was a thirst for arbitrary despotic power, and his antagonism to European influence arose, not from high patriotism, but from a fear lest this exer- cise of despotism should be curtailed. But in particular he was opposed to the British, and would infinitely have preferred German or French domination, because his craven heart was tormented by an ever-present fear, that vengeance must come from us for the murder of Bishop Hannington. This fear, I believe, grew into a living terror, when he found that he had to deal with CAUSE OF MWANGA's ALARM. 41 a man who would not cringe to him. I was told that his dreams were haunted by these spectres of ven- geance, of which he looked on me as the embodiment. He thought I was but biding my time, and it is there- fore but little to be wondered at that he both feared and detested me, and did all he could to thwart me. I regarded my mission as one for the reclamation and settlement of Uganda : surely I was right to refuse to be deterred from the course I had set myself to follow, by the opposition of such a king ? The treaty was certainly obtained against his will — I have never said the contrary. " British prestige," says Ashe,^ * ' was at a discount, for the Waganda imagined that Englishmen might be killed with impunity in Africa." This prestige it was my business to restore, and that I did restore it effectually before I left Uganda is indisputable. Yet during all the time we were there (including the war, &c.), we were the instruments of death to comparatively few — probably not a fraction of the number who have met with their death elsewhere in Africa through the advent of other expeditions whose objects have been limited to exploration or to sport. Constant letters from and interviews with both missions and the chiefs, in addition to my usual work, taxed all my energies at this time. On Dec. 27th the Church Missionary party arrived under Bishop Tucker. Eight had started (by the German route) from the coast. Of these, three were dead, four too ill to walk up from the lake shore, and the eighth was an invalid. I sent down means to carry them up. The French bishop, Mgr. Hirth, had left for the south of the lake about a week before, while the treaty was not yet signed. I had much re- gretted his departure at so critical a moment. Bishop Tucker told me he did not intend to stay in Uganda • ^ Two Kings, &c., p. 239. 42 PRELIMINARY WORK IN UGANDA. more than four weeks, and at the time of his arrival was already making plans for his departure. There had been a good deal of firing off of guns by the Protestants on the night of the 27th, in honour of the bishop's arrival. This, I think, was not acceptable to the Wa-Fransa, and next day (Sunday), probably in consequence of a latent feeling of insecurity, there was a scare at the morning service, the Protestants having heard a rumour that they were to be attacked. The disturbance was soon quelled, but late at night I received a letter from the Kimbugwe and Kauta (F. chiefs) saying they expected the Protestants to attack them. The letter was somewhat ambiguously worded, and I was uncertain whether or not it was intended to convey the information that we also were to be attacked, because the Wa-Ingleza were very angry at my not having identified myself with them entirely, as they had expected. I inquired of my men if they had heard news, and was told that three separate women had come to warn us we should be attacked, and the rumour had also been heard from other sources. I sent out Somals as scouts, and presently they came back breathless to say the enemy was approaching. I did not know whether they would prove to be the Protestants or the R. Catholics ! I now quietly gave the word for the men to turn out. Already my little force had been reduced by fifty rifles — sent to Usoga to procure food. We were without defences of any kind, and had no line of retreat open to us in case of reverse. Though the scouts' report proved later to be unfounded, we had a mauvais quart dlieure before we ascertained the truth. I turned to my men — the porters for whom Professor Drummond can find no words bad enough — and asked if they were ready to fight. With one voice ATTACK THREATENED. 43 the reply came back in a chorus, "Eh-walla, Eh-tvalla. Tayari " (Yes, yes. Ready). " Where you die we shall be killed first." I was deeply touched by their loyalty; and that scene, as we stood in the moonlight await- ing an attack from overwhelming numbers, every man struggling to he in the front rank, is as vivid to my mind's eye as though it had occurred but yesterday. It proved to be a false alarm, though there was no doubt that mischief was brewing, for we saw the peasants hurrying away in all directions with their belongings, and there was great disturbance and drum- beating. Towards morning I lay down in my clothes on the ground, as Gedge occupied my cot. The Kimbugwe came early, and there was no doubt that our quiet preparations impressed him greatly. No one had imagined but what we had all slept in uncon- scious security, and yet they woke to find me in my clothes, sentries alert, the Maxim posted, ammunition- boxes opened, and all in readiness. Each side tried to incriminate the other, but I would give no clue as to 44 PRELIMINARY WORK IN UGANDA. my informants, merely saying that the flying peasants had told me it was war, — we were ready to fight if attacked, and so had made preparations. I also heard that a party had gone to Dr Stuhlmann to ask him to hoist the German flag, for I suppose the malcontents thought they could thus play off* one set of Europeans against the other. Meanwhile, though subject to momentary interrup- tions, I began to write my first report to the Directors, at such odd moments of leisure as I could get, in antici- pation of Mr Gedge's departure for the coast. I also had a voluminous official correspondence to prepare — gear and stock returns, returns of all issues and expen- diture, men's accounts, &c., &c. I also began to send the men out to bring in logs (of the date-palm) to build a stockade. I did my utmost to win the confidence of the Wa-Fransa, even showing them more cordiality than I did to the other side. The king continued' to bother me with notes, asking me to alter this and that in the treaty, but I declined to do so, and refused to see him until justice was done in the matter of one of my Sudanese — who had been shot in the leg by a party of lawless men, while attempting to rob him of some pombe he had bought in the market. The quarrels between the factions were constant and serious. The Protestants came to me in great indigna- tion, to say the king had ousted some of their people causelessly from their estates, apparently to provoke me. Bishop Tucker took up the matter, but I replied that the E. Catholics no less than themselves urged that they had grievances, and I would not take up one side and not the other. " So I asked that they would clearly tabulate their grievances, and I would get the Wa-Fransa to do the same. He said he thought the R. Catholics had no business to go to me with petty grievances. Why did they not go to STRAINED RELATIONS. 45 the priests, and then he and they would discuss the matters quietly and put them straight ? I said I would gladly refer all minor differences between the parties to the missions, and they should refer to me all injustices of the king, and I would do my best." Next day, however, the matter assumed an acute stage. The Wa-Ingleza were exasperated, and war seemed imminent. I spent the day running about in a fiercely hot sun to the priests, the English missions, and the big chiefs in turn, doing my very utmost to prevent an outbreak. I appeared to have succeeded, and each side was to draw up a full list of grievances ; but in the middle of the night I was awakened with the news, that a message had come from the Katikiro, to say the Wa-Fraiisa would attack us at daylight. Again I made all preparations for defending ourselves, for the noise and drum-beating and disturbance showed that mischief was intended. It appears that Mr Gedge having recently recalled the Snider rifles (which he had lent in case of Mo- hammedan attack), a party of malcontents on the Fraiisa side had raised a cry, that we were taking them from their party only — preparatory to attacking them — and had allowed the higleza party to retain theirs. This was wholly untrue. A midnight meet- ing had been called of the Wa-Fransa, and the other faction woke up to find them under arms, and so they too immediately gathered for a fight. I re- mained ready but neutral, and did not leave my camp, not knowing but that the intention might be to attack it from an enclosure close by. I sent mes- sages to the Katikiro and Kimbugwe to stop the war, and call away their men, and also to the Eng- lish and French missions, begging them to use their influence, and at the very last moment hostilities were averted. 46 PRELIMINARY WORK IN UGANDA. Next day " I got the list of grievances from both sides. That of the Protestants was clearly made out in English, but the other faction's was an impossible jumble in Swahili and Kiganda. I sent them to Bishop Tucker, in accordance with our understanding, but he sent the paper back saying he could make neither head nor tail of it. So after some diflBcultv I got the priest to consent to write out the R. Catholic grievances clearly in French." Meanwhile I attempted myself to effect a settlement. After much talk they broke off, saying they could only discuss such matters before the king ; but the Wa-Ingleza object to this, saying the king is on the other side, and so gives all decisions in their favour. I suggested that the Kauta (F.) and Sambera (E.) should talk it all over quietly with me — as they both speak Swahili fluently — and each should represent his own side ; but all declined, saying two men are not enough. If more stay, it merely means that they all get into a heated argument, and no result is achieved. I then went to see the Kimbugwe (head of the Wa-Fransa): "He seemed down on his luck, and said he thought that neither party would be satisfied until they had fought it out, and suggested they should go away near the lake to do so ! " I rallied him about it — we were great friends now — and said we should succeed yet with patience. As a beginning, I insisted that the big chiefs should forbid men carrying their guns about. In trying to conciliate the Wa-Fransa I had great difficulty in avoiding offence to the Wa-Ingleza, and on the 5th (Jan. 1891) Bishop Tucker himself wrote to say that they were, rightly or wrongly, sore because I had snubbed them. So I went off and made my peace with the Katikiro ! By the 8th I had finished my report, and a mass of correspondence, which Grant devoted himself with OUR OWN POSITION. 47 untiring energy to copy out for me. I had, moreover, some cause for anxiety regarding our own position, as I had but very little cloth left for food purchase, and I knew that Captain Williams when he came would bring little else but ammunition, and many more men to feed. The party I had sent to Usoga for food had been prevented (at the Nile) from returning, probably by Mwanga's order ; nor would the king give me canoes to get the absolutely necessary cloth for food purchase from the south of the lake. The Missions refused me the loan of their boat for this purpose, but I event- ually bought a few loads from them and from Dr Stuhlmann, at double their proper price, in my ex- tremity. I was, moreover, so entirely engrossed with my work for the mails going to the coast, and with the diflSculties in Uganda — which kept me working till far into the night, and hardly gave me time to eat my hurried meals — that I had little space to at- tend to my own men ; and an emeute occurred between the Sudanese and Swahilis, for the men were getting considerably out of hand. I had heard repeated reports that the Mohammedans were raiding in Uganda, and on the 11th I was asked if we would aid the Waganda in repelling them. I re- fused, on the grounds that I could not leave Kampala until I had built a fort, and a store, in which to put my goods before the rains, and that my present numbers were not sufficient to halve. My strongest reasons however, were, that I must await Williams' arrival, and that we could not go to war with the mere handful of ammunition we had, for if this were fired away we should be left defenceless. I did not, however, dilate on this, for they had supposed the stack of boxes of beads I had brought from Kavirondo to be all ammunition, and I was content to let them think so ! I also told them that I was in favour of coming to terms 48 PRELIMINARY WORK IN UGANDA. with the Mohammedans. They replied, that this faction had a king of their own, and there could not be two kings in Uganda. Also, that all the lands belonging to them had now been divided up among themselves, and that no one would consent to dis- gorge ! On the 13th I went to the king with Gedge, who wished to say good-bye. It was the first time I had seen him since the signing of the treaty. He was extremely insulting in his manner and language to Gedge, till I could stand it no longer, and brought him to his bearings by demanding the man who had fired at my Sudanese soldier, and threatening to take the law into my own hands on another occasion, if I found the king was powerless to do justice. The interview, however, as regards myself was fairly satis- factory. He gave me the little knoll on which my camp was pitched — named Kampala — also the planta- tion at the foot of the shortest slope, which I greatly desired to acquire, as it was owned by a very rowdy set belonging to the Fransa faction, who were con- tinually creating a disturbance. The lofty reed fence round it offered, moreover, an impenetrable screen, behind which, in case of trouble, a large mass of men might assemble within forty yards of my camp. The king also promised to send messengers at once to the Nile to bring across my party, who had gone for food. He made a very formal and deferential request to me — viz., that I would ask Emin Pasha to come to Uganda ; alleging that he was an old friend, and that he merely wished to see him again. I had long heard that he desired this in order to ascertain whether Emin would confirm my statements, and I think that Mwanga was anxious to see how I should reply to such a request. If I demurred, it would be taken as evidence that I was afraid to be confronted with him. I at once EMIN INVITED. 49 agreed, — the king, as a quid pro quo for my letter to Emin, promising to give me canoes to fetch my cloth from the south of the lake. I wrote telling Emin that Mwanga wished to see him as a private friend ; and that of course on such terms he was most welcome to come, and I would show him all the hospitality I could. Shortly afterwards I got the canoes despatched under one of my headmen, who also conveyed the letter to Emin. He of course declined to come, as he had work of his own. There was a marked alteration in Mwansfa's manner to me, and I thought I noticed a decided improvement all round, which was proved by one's meeting fewer men in the roads with guns. The " grievances " of the Wa-Fransa had now been translated by the priests, and they had a conference with Bishop Tucker on the subject. The result did not appear very satis- factory. " The bishop had agreed to make restitution for all looting, but the questions of eviction from estates and the division of Sessd Island, &c., were to be left to myself and the king. Concerning the seizing of crosses (worn by the R. Catholics round their necks), there appears to be no evidence, and the bishop has promised to speak to the Protestants on the subject." He told me of this on the 18th. On the 26th Bishop Tucker left Uganda without attempting any second conference, and the English missionaries then wrote to me to say that they would not be held to this engagement of the bishop's, which must be understood to apply to himself alone. Thus ended the undertaking of the Missions to assist in the settlement of difficulties — an undertaking cordially accepted by myself. It had merely resulted in the passing on to me of the real questions at issue, and I do not think the French Fathers had been in favour of the attempt : that the English missionaries VOL. II. D 50 PRELIMINAKY WORK IN UGAXDA. were not, was shown by their repudiation of the bishop's undertaking as soon as he left.^ Having obtained from the king the site of Kampala, I at once began to build my fort (Jan. 15), and insti- tuted regular hours of work for the men — ^\4z., four to five hours in the morning and two in the afternoon. On the same day Mr Gedge left for the coast with some eighty rifles. Grant was absolutely indefatigable, and worked from morning till night copying out re- ports and letters for the coast, checking all expenditure of stores, and assisting me to form an office routine, and institute regular office records. De Winton super- intended the work at the fort. Our night sentries were a novelty in Uganda, and procured us almost com- plete immunity from the thieving propensities of the Waganda. Such culprits as were seized for offences I sent to the Katikiro with evidence, and showed the people that it was my intention, by all means in my power, to support the law and institutions of the coun- try, and to work through and by them. In return, I demanded that no summary or arbitrary reprisals should be taken on any of my men who might be caught m flagrante delicto, but that they should be sent to me for disposal. We worked very hard at the fort. As it was of a different style of construction from any we had made hitherto, it was some time before I could get the men to grasp the idea. It was of upright logs of date-palm fitted close together. The trace was made ^ Sir Gerald Portal more recently endeavoured to arrive at an under- standing between the two bishops — not on a question of native evidence and counter-statements, but on a broad question of spheres of mission influence. He says that all hope of an amicable settlement seemed again and again to be lost ; and with difliculty, after three and a half hours of heated argument, a temporary modus vivendi was found. He bears witness (as I too can most emphatically) to the conciliatory spirit shown by Bishop Tucker, whose sole object, it was most evident, was to put an end to friction and rivalry. — Blue-book Africa, No. 8, 1893, p. 15. POSITION AGAIN CRITICAL. 51 just below the crest-line of the knoll, and the ground then made up level inside by carrying in earth. The poles rose 4 ft. 6 in. above the small banquette inside, while from the outside they varied from 5 ft. to over 6 ft. above the slope. The heat was great, as this was the very hottest time of the year, and at mid- dav it was close on 100° in our tents. As the sides of the fort began to progress, I was constantly questioned by the chiefs as to what was my object in building a structure, the like of which they had never seen before ; and on the night of the 17th, for the third time, I got secret messages to say we were to be attacked at midnight, as some of the people supposed we were in league with the Mohammedans, and meant to drive out all the Christians. I did not give much credence to this report, for I saw no indications of disturbance among the people ; but nevertheless I watched, off and on, all night myself, for I was now a full hundred guns short from my little force, — the fifty who had gone for food to Usoga had not returned, and an equal number had gone to escort Gedge, — and the night was dark, without a moon. As I anticipated, nothing happened ; and I think the messenger was either sent by the king for some in- scrutable reason of his own, or possibly was a thief who invented the story to account for his presence. '' Scares" like this, and the strain of being constantly at tension, are, however, very trying, as I had found by a long-continued experience, which had perhaps had its effect upon me, and left its mark behind. I called all the chiefs, and explained that my fort would be available for their goods and their women, if ever Uganda were attacked — not merely by the Moham- medan party, but possibly in the future by the Mahdists ; and so I reassured them. At this time (Jan. 20th) a very marked improve- 52 PRELIMINARY WORK IN UGANDA. ment beofan to be noticeable. Not only were the chiefs of both factions thoroughly at home with me and most friendly, but the change in their relations towards each other was remarked by De Winton and others. The roads were cleaned up, arms put away, and I really had hopes that I was at last gaining their confidence, and that the troubles would pass. On the 20th news came that Captain Williams had reached the Nile, and once a^fain the ever-readv suspicions began to circulate. The Wa-Ingleza accused the king and Wa-Fransa of sending men to attack Williams in the forests of Usoga. The Pokino (E.), who was somewhat of a firebrand, started these accusations, and challenged the other side to produce the chiefs he named, as having been sent. I also heard that there was an idea of murdering Gedge, who was delayed on his journey by illness. My in- timate friend the Kauta (F.) denied the truth of these assertions, but said that they were not responsible for what the king did. I did not like this phrase, for Mwanga was confesssedly of the " French " faction, and it looked as though they knew he was up to mischief. So I sent twenty-three rifles to reinforce Gedge ; and I also sent letters to warn Williams, and requested him to send Mr Auburn (who was with him) back to the coast to take care of Gedge. As the Moham- medans were raiding near, I issued some damaged ammunition to the chiefs ; but the army did not go, and waited to see the upshot of Williams' arrival, and whether (as some malcontents were saying) we should then throw off our mask and attack. At this most critical moment a Mganda who had gone to the coast with Jackson, and returned with Williams, deserted and arrived in Mengo, and I heard that he had spread the most extraordinary reports, saying that we were cowards who dare not fight, but BETTER FEELING AMONG CHIEFS. 53 that the Germans were brave ; that we had poisoned the Sultan of Zanzibar ; that we paid hongo^ to naked spearmen ; that our Maxim was merely for show, and fired single bullets like a gun ; that Williams had boxes of flags to force on all chiefs, &c., &c. At the same time I got news that Gedge, after going only a march or two, had broken down, and was dangerously ill, if not dying, and that his men (a pack of scoundrels for the most part) were robbing right and left. The return of my fifty men from Usoga enabled me to send De Winton with fourteen men to look after Gedge, and reinforce him if necessary. Mr Gordon shortly afterwards went also and relieved De Winton. I spent a sleepless night, and in the morning I called all the chiefs, and spoke to them of the reports which these deserters had brought. "They replied," I write, **that I had now been with them a long time, and they knew me, and knew my heart, and were my friends. It mattered not what reports came from any source whatever ; they would not believe them. If they heard them, they would come and teU me. If they did not come, I was to know they were not worth repeating ! This was most seriously said by the Kimbugwe (F.), and obviously meant^ I think. At the same time, their cordiality to me, and the chaff and good-fellowship between each other, was most noticeable. All ate coffee together, and the 'deadly enemies,' the Katikiro and Kimbugwe, drank pomh6 out of the same bowl. They began to chaff about strength, and I left them putting the weight and playing like a parcel of schoolboys with Grant, amid shouts of laughter. . . . Need I say how excessively relieved and pleased I was ? " The stockade progressed and looked very smart ; clean and orderly though our camp had always been, ^ Blackmail. 54 PRELIMINARY WORK IN UGANDA. the new fort and levelling made a wonderful improve- ment. Altogether, there were some 224 yds. of pole work to do, and the area enclosed was perhaps equal to a square of 56-yard sides, or some 3000 sq. yds. area; but it was slow work, for long poles were required, and each one had to be carried from a great distance by two men, so that we only got about seventy a day. The king asked me one day for Dualla's services to translate an Arabic letter. It was from an Arab (judiciously unsigned), offering to sell Mwanga guns and powder. I long afterwards heard reports that he had come to terms secretly with this Arab at the south of the lake, and that the arms were hidden in bales of cloth, but being discovered by the Germans, the whole lot was confiscated.^ At this time the king was very friendly, and hLs suspicions and hostility seemed to have much abated. A question had arisen as to whether my men should pay the ''market-tax," an impost which was collected on every article sold in the market, however minute. I peremptorily declined to pay it, as also the dues at the Nile, since we had not come to Uganda to pay taxes. The king agreed, and promised to restore an ox which had been seized from my food-party at the Nile as toll. There was also some little trouble re- garding women, and I took the opportunity of sug- gesting a local police force of Waganda, but it was not till some time later that I was able to actually begin the experiment. Thus, towards the end of January, things began to look brighter in Uganda, and I was able to add a hope- ful forecast for the future to my report to the Directors, which had been delayed by Mr Gedge's illness. I had succeeded in despatching a headman to the south of the ^ This is now printed and published in a German report. FEEXCH MISSIONS AND SLAVE- WOMEN. 55 lake for cloth, and so the fear of our running out of the wherewithal to purchase food was no longer so present to my mind. Williams had safely crossed the Nile, and though some of the more suspicious still viewed his advance with apprehension, the excitement had cooled down. Zachariah (P.), a most moderate man, and much trusted by the opposite faction, brought me (on the 30th) some pretty articles of native make. I re- gi'etted I had no suitable gift to make in return, and find the following note in my diary under this date : " He said he wanted no return present; that he brought them because thev had received such benefits from us. That at the time we came, there were quarrels daily and hourly. Each day war was imminent. Now there was peace, and all were settling down quietly, and there was no further fear. And before, in addition to the civil war, there was daily fear of the return of the Mohammedans. The latter had heard of our coming, and there was no more fear of them, and they merely raided about. For this they were most grateful." There was about this time a question regarding slavery, which it may be interesting to note, as being perhaps a phase of the matter we have not so far discussed. Emin Pasha had broken up a camp of Arabs and Swahilis at the south of the lake, and captured many of their women. ^ Under the impression, I presume, that these were slaves, he had handed them over to the French Mission at Bukumbi, who, I under- stood, had given them menial work to do, to which they were not accustomed. Finding them useless, they sent six of them to Uganda, and here again they were told to cultivate the gardens of the French Mission. Being unused to this work, and ignorant of it, they were given to various influential chiefs ^ Recent news informs us that this was the alleged reason of his assassination. 56 PRELIMINARY WORK IN UGANDA. of the R. Catholic religion. Several of them escaped from these " protectors," and joined my men, whose language they spoke (Swahili), and whom they pre- ferred to the Waganda, of whose cruelty they com- plained greatly. Thereupon the chiefs came to me, and begged to be allowed to seize one of these women and take her back again. My own view is thus expressed in my diary : " Now this is a case of dealing in slaves, though, of course, the Fathers only acted as they thought best for the women. First, the Mission imported them as slaves to work on their estates, and then gave them as slaves against their will to the Waganda : for they are most particular that a man shall not have more than one wife, — so they were not given as wives. I wrote to one of the Fathers and said this was the story I had heard, but it could not be correct, and asked for the true details. The priest merely denied that they were slaves. So I said, if free she could go where she liked, and she wished to return to Usukuma, or 'marry' one of my Swahilis. Eventually I sent her back to the French Mission, say- ing that I thought they should keep her till an oppor- tunity occurred to send her to the south of the lake again (since they had brought her here), for my camp was not a good place for women. The Father retaliated by saying he had heard that one of my men had bought a Mganda girl. " This I consider a different question. It is a matter of morals, not of slavery. The woman comes of her own (or her parents') free will as a temporary or per- manent wife." According to the custom of Africa a present is made, or a price paid, as you may like to phrase it. It is better that the men should thus obtain women *' to cook for them," as the phrase is, by amicable arrangement, than that they should bring trouble by less friendly methods. " Slavery," I add, " is a different SLAVERY VEJiSUS MORALS. 57 matter, though, in the case of women, doubtless the two practices come very near together, and one must look with a clear eye to distinguish. The purchase in any country of a domestic slave, presupposes that the per- son sold will thereupon enter on the status of slavery — viz., that the purchaser can sell her at any time ; that she has no civic rights, and is a mere chattel. Sup- posing one of my men to have obtained a woman, she is not looked on as his slave, but as his wife or con- cubine, according to Mohammedan law. She can leave him, and he would come in vain to me for permission to recover her ; if he resold her, and I heard of it, he would be punished, and she would be released. She also has civic rights — that is, she has the same facilities of appeal to me in case of ill-usage, as any of my men. And already they know by experience, that if I hear a man has struck a woman, he gets it hot. The ob- taining of a woman as a concubine in her own country (even though by payment), and with her own or her parents' consent, may be better or worse than the slave- trade, but it is a different thing ^ Long afterwards, just before I left Uganda, a some- what similar case occurred. A Swahili woman, who had been captured from the Arabs, was found in the island of Bulingugwe. Irons had been welded on her ankles, and it was necessary to file these through to release her. P5re Brard brought a R. Catholic Mganda one day to Kampala, who stated that his wife was living amongst our people. I sent him with my orderly to find her, and he returned with this girl. P^re Brard insisted that she should be given up, saying that she was the lawful wife of the man, who, by the R. Catholic creed, could not be divorced, and must remain a celibate unless she returned to him. The woman protested that she had suffered much ill-treatment, and had consented to call herself a R. Catholic to escape 58 PRELIMINARY WORK IN UGANDA. further beating. She protested she had never willingly married the man, which I can quite believe, for in every single instance I found that the Swahili women loathed the Waganda. Here is a case of marriage i\ slavery, and from my point of view I should say that this girl was much more a slave than a Mganda woman who " cooks for" a porter, and can at any moment run away and claim protection from violence if she chooses. But in this case the porter has probably given her parents a piece of cloth for the woman ; while in the other, the woman, being a captive, was merely "given in marriage," whether she liked or not. Analogous to this question is that of the purchase of slaves, especially children, by the Missions, for religious education — a system I hold to be entirely illegal, and also unfitting. " Illegal ; " — because if a slave is bought, no matter if freed five minutes after the purchase-money is paid, the purchaser, being a European, is liable to prosecution for participation in the slave-trade. More- over, I am not aware that these slave-children, so pur- chased, are freed in any manner which would satisfy a court of law. Are they presented with freedom papers, or is it explained to them that they are free to go where they will, and do as they please ? On the contrary, are they not looked upon as Mission property, to be recap- tured even by force if they desert, and compelled to do the work assigned to them ? Is not the case I have just narrated a strong instance ? For the Mission claimed absolute rights over the women, though repu- diated by the women themselves. " Unfitting ; " — be- cause (as I have already said) I hold that redemption from slavery should not be made a vehicle for compul- sory religion. It seems to me a farce that Europe should be told that a mission has "freed" so many slaves, when, as a fact, they are as forcibly detained (in order to be " instructed") as ever they were when ARRIVAL OF WILLIAMS. 59 "slaves."^ The French Mission largely employ this system of purchasing slave-boys, as Pfere Brard repeat- edly told me ; and Mr Ashe, of the Chm-ch Missionary Society, writes : " We had a good number of little boys, some given to us by chiefs, some sold to us, . . . some were redeemed by us," &c.^ Thus both missions are equally included in the remarks I have made ; but whereas it is the acknowledged custom of the R. Catholic Mission, approved, as Pfere Brard told me, by their authorities, it is little done by the Church Mis- sionary Society, and I was not aware it had been done at all, till I saw the passage in Ashe's book.^ On the 27th Bishop Tucker left. I cannot speak too highly of the pluck and the cordial spirit shown by both Gordon and Walker throughout all this period, especially in the very difficult situation which ensued immediately after my arrival, when they were the only two other Englishmen in this part of Africa besides ourselves. On Jan. 31st Williams arrived. He brought with him about 75 Sudanese, and 100 Swahilis ; also a Maxim gun (which was more reliable than the worn-out one I had), and a considerable amount of ammunition. Mr Auburn, who had accompanied him, had returned to the coast with Gedge. The stockade work of Fort Kampala was by this time (only a fortnight after the work was begun) practically complete, and we were engaged in carrying in earth for levelling, and in build- ing native houses and a large store, while we still lived in our tents. Williams brought up the Sudan- ese sergeant-major, not having heard the causes for which I had sent him from Dagoreti. This fellow had ' Vide Willoiighby's evidence on this point, quoted chap. viii. p. 6. * Two Kings of Uganda, p. 98. 2 The Anti-slavery Society have repeatedly protested against the practice as one that leads to the capture of children in order to supply the demand. 60 PRELIMINARY WORK IN UGANDA. again attempted to incite the men to mutiny and deser- tion, and had now been brought on as a prisoner to be tried for his life. As the general spirit among the men seemed excellent, and no example was needed to exert a deterrent eflfect, I was averse to the death penalty ; and the man was flogged, sent in irons to the coast with Gedge — who, having been detained by illness, I was able to overtake with mails — deprived of pay, and dismissed the service with ignominy. 61 CHAPTER XXIV. DIFFICULTIES IN UGANDA. Captain Williams, R.A. — "2ianzibari Levy" — Stokes arrives — His powder and arms — Disputes reopened-— Previous participation in politics of French and English missionaries — Besults — People accustomed to despotism — Wa-Fvansa — Wa-Ingleza — l^Eissionaries partisans — Chronic difficulties re shamhas — Statute-book — Division of Se8s6 — Real signifi- cance— Our cordiality with chiefs — Quarrel in haraza — Private con- ference with Mwanga — Factions prepare for war — Settlement by night — Peace, and Mwanga's gratitude — Outrage in Chagwd — War again averted — Arrival of French bishop — Unsatisfactory interview — Influ- ence of Mujasi with priests. Captain W. H. Williams, R.A., who now joined me, was a typical specimen of the best class of British oflScer. Though he had come to Uganda as my second in command, he was, in point of fact, senior to me by two months as a captain, and over a year in the date of his first commission. He had long commanded his battery, and had thrown up an appointment as adjutant of Artillery to accompany Sir F. De Winton. He was a keen soldier, whose interests lay entirely in his pro- fession, and, unlike myself, he came to Africa mainly with a view of gaining experience which would be use- ful to him as a soldier. He spoke Turkish and French, and had acquired a colloquial knowledge of Arabic. Having enlisted the Sudanese in Egypt for the Imperial British East African Company, he naturally looked on them as his especial charge, and what little drill and 62 DIFFICULTIES IN UGANDA. discipline had been instilled into them, was due to his untiring energy in Mombasa, during the one month they were under him, before the company who joined my expedition had left. It was now arranged that, being all reunited, they should be under his command, and he began to drill and discipline them — to adjust their accounts, and supervise their clothing and interior economy ; and in a wonderfully short time the improve- ment in their smartness and general turn-out was most marked. He began to teach them a rough skirmishing drill, — advancing in loose fighting formation through the long grass and dense banana-plantations, working by bugle-sounds, and attacking an imaginary position. I also determined to strengthen our fighting force by selecting the best of our Zanzibaris, striking them off all porters' work, and converting them for the time, at least, into two companies, under their own non-com- missioned ofiicers. These companies numbered some seventy each (all ranks), and were called " the Zanzi- bari Levy." They wore a short jacket (shaped like a jersey, and pulled on over the head) and a white loin- cloth. The red company had a patch of scarlet cloth, a foot square, between the shoulders, and red cuffs ; the blue company had a similar distinction in blue. Under Williams' indefatigable tuition, and with the advan- tage of having the Sudanese to imitate, they very rapidly developed into a most serviceable body of men, and took a great pride in keeping themselves clean and smart ; and we did all in our power to inculcate the idea that their position was superior to that of the porters, and that it was an honour to be selected for the Levy. Grant, meanwhile, had the safari — viz., the porter and caravan establishment — under his more especial charge, while De Winton devoted his time to the building and daily work. My own energies were engrossed in a gen- eral supervision, and in the affairs of Uganda. STOKES ARRIVES. 63 On Feb. 3d Williams went to be introduced to the king. We found an enormous assemblage of people with guns, — Mwanga apparently having called every available fighting man he could to the capital, to make a show. I believe he was nervous lest I should now de- clare my intention of forcing a flag on the country. The interview was satis- factory and brief, and the king again pressed me to go out to war against the Mohammedans. On the 5th Mr Stokes arrived, and heralded his ap- proach by sending me indignant letters, repudiating the ac- cusation that he had w. grant. brought arms and ammunition from the coast. We, however, became very friendly, and he promised most emphatically not to attempt to import arms or powder. This was an im- portant matter, for though I might prevent his doing so openly, he himself pointed out that he was able to evade my efforts in many ways, — -as, for instance, by issuing powder to his elephant - hunters at the south of the lake, and conniving at their selling it in Uganda. He said that the demand for powder here was so great now, that he could make a profit of something like .£250 on every porters' load ! Possibly, as a matter of fact, he could have made (for a smaU 64 DIFFICULTIES IN UGANDA. quantity only) something like half this sum. I spoke very strongly to him on the subject, saying that the import of powder at the present moment would mean civil war, and he agreed that it would be little better than murder. On the other hand, I promised to facili- tate his legitimate trade, and agreed that natives sent by him with goods should come to Uganda and traffic on his behalf. I promised also to store his ivory, and, so far as I might be able, to buy his goods and promote his interests with the Company. Later he took advantage of these offers, and a party of his men traded, under our protection, during the whole time I was in Uganda, while we stored his ivory, which otherwise (a year later) would have been lost in the war. I told him to submit proposals in writing for the sale of his goods, and he did so. They included 50 loads of gunpowder, 4 loads of gun-caps (70 lb. each), and 250 guns ! Yet he said, when he first came, that he had no powder or arms, and resented my letter, in which I stated that it had been reported he had this stuff! The prices he asked were so enormous that I would not buy, and he then begged me to store it for him, so that he might not be tempted to sell it. This I willingly agreed to do, and I sent down for it, as I shall narrate presently. Stokes left (14th Feb.), after giving me this promise that he would place his powder and arms under my charge ; and I told him jfrankly, that if he behaved honourably in the matter, I on my part would help him in every way I could. He had not reached the south of the lake, however, before he wrote to say he had changed his mind, and would retain his arms and powder himself! Meanwhile the difficulties between the two factions had led to much heartburning. The Wa-Ingleza de- clared that the king had, without any cause whatever, ousted a number of their adherents from their estates, DISPUTES REOPENED. 65 and replaced them by men of his own faction. They said that this had been going on a long time, and that they had only refrained from fighting for their rights on the urgent advice of Mr Gordon, who had told them to be patient, — that the British would come to Uganda, and they would then obtain restitution. If it is true that Mr Gordon said this, it will easily be understood how its meaning had been exaggerated into the expectation, that the arrival of the Company's agents would be the signal for a complete triumph of the " English " party, and the fulfilment of all their wishes. The Pokino, an influential and brave Protestant chief, was the warmest in his protestations, and said that now, though I had been some time in Uganda, I had done nothing for them, and they were being evicted as frequently or more frequently than before. Most of the chiefs of both parties were on friendly terms towards each other, and extremely cordial to us ; but there were several of the '* French " party who would have nothing to say to us, and had never come to make friends with us. Of these, the three chiefs, Mujasi, Kaima, and Salo-Salo, w^ere the leaders. At such places as the houses of these chiefs, and of men of lesser position, there was a good deal of j^ombe- drinking at night, and on such occasions there was not unfrequently a row, which once or twice nearly led to trouble. I spoke to the Kimbugwe, the head of the Wa - Fransa, about it ; but he merely said that so long as all the great chiefs were my friends, and all on the side of peace, what need had I to notice the folly of a parcel of boys ? It tvas, however, these very men who eventually precipitated the war. Before discussing the points of dispute, it is now necessary briefly to summarise the position in Uganda. The two factions called Wa-Ingleza (English) and Wa- Fransa (French) were led by chiefs of the Protestant VOL. II. E 66 DIFFICULTIES IN UGANDA. and Roman Catholic creeds respectively. These chiefs were the rulers of the country, and the lesser chiefs and peasantry, who followed them in war as their retainers or serfs, declared themselves, of course, of the same faction as their lords. The two parties were thus composed largely of men of no religion, nor were they religious in their designation. But religious dif- ferences had embittered the leaders and a large por- tion of the rank and file against each other, and then- animosity was taken up and intensified by their re- spective followers. Mgr. Hirth, on my first arrival, had cordially offered me his support, and told me that, now that Uganda was ceded by international agreement to the influence of Great Britain, he and his party would cordially recognise the Company's administration. This declara- tion I fully believe to have been sincere at the time ; but the reader will judge from subsequent events to what extent he acted up to this promise. But Mgr., when saying this, also added, that up to the time of the Anglo - German agreement Uganda had been " No-man's land," and that it was then perfectly legiti- mate for any one to establish an influence, with a view to the ultimate political supremacy. That he had worked with this view hitherto, I understood him candidlv to admit. And herein, it appears to me, lies the solution of the whole matter. French-made arms had been imported into the country, and there were very many of them in Uganda, and these must have been brought by the Fathers, for, so far as I know, there is no trade in French arms on the East African coast. The R Catholics had been taught to desire French suprem- acy, and their faction had adopted the title of T^a- Fransa. But supposing that Mgr. now wished to undo all this, and accept the British administration, the work of years could not be undone in a moment, POLITICS OF MISSIONARIES. 67 nor could the Fathers persuade the whole faction to resign the aims they had themselves fostered, though they might explain the change to some of the most intelligent and influential chiefs. Unfortunately, the faction opposed to them was "English." How far a similar policy of creating a political influence in favour of British rule had been promoted by the Protestant missionaries, I have no accurate means of knowing. Doubtless they were little behind the Fathers in their desires to secure in Uganda the supremacy of the nation to which they belonged. For General Gordon, speaking of the Uganda mission, says, that, "as it is composed, it is more secular than spir- itual " ^ and accordingly writes to indicate the political attitude the mission should take. Mackay s letters prove him to have been a most zealous promoter of British supremacy; and Mr Gordon's action upon and subsequent to Mr Jackson's arrival indicates that the missionaries apparently considered that they were the representatives of British interests. I do not believe, however, that they ever imported any arms, or had any definite political schemes. On arrival I was looked upon by the Fratisa party as an addition to the hostile camp. The British flag was regarded as the standard of the Wa-Ingleza ; the French flag as the standard of the Wa-Fransa. Had the Germans taken over Uganda, they would have been unwelcome to the R. Catholics, as being Protestants ; but their flag, at least, would have been looked on as neutral. This feeling was very strong among the peasantry in the outlying districts. Later, when I went to Buddu, the R. Catholics refused me food, on the ground that I was English, saying they would only supply Frenchmen. I therefore endeav- oured to separate, in the minds of the people, the two ^ Gordon in Africa, p. 183. 68 DIFFICTLTrB IX UGAXDA. ideas of relicrioii and of nationality. I always spoke of the R. Catholics as the '' Wa-Katoliki " and the Protestants as " Wa - Protestanti," refusing to ac- knowledge the tenns " French " and " English," for we were now (I said) oil English. With those with whom I came into contact I succeeded, as I have shown ; but among those who did not come to Kam- pala, and among the peasantry, the rancour and jealousy remained. Meanwhile, it must be remembered that these Africans had always been ruled with a rod of iron. ^ Mtesa and his forefathers had preserved peace among their turbu- lent and excitable people only by periodically sending off huge armies to lay waste neighbouring states, and by wholesale executions for the most trivial offences, or for a mere whim. Thus they acquired the absolute authority which surrounds despots. With the return of Mwanga, after his exile, this brutal rule was ex- changed for a feeble and vacillating hand, which, more- over, was no longer empowered to authorise executions. The result was that the people ran riot. In old days Mtesa had issued an order that "every man was to wear a bead on his wrist, on pain of losing his head ; and every woman a bead on a string round her waist, on pain of being cut in half."^ And the sentence met with instant execution, if the whim of the king was neglected. But now, though the country was on the verge of war, Mwanga might issue order after order, that men should leave their arms in their houses, and no one heeded it. In the old days, after sun- down the king's executioners would patrol the roads, and instantly execute any one found abroad, on the grounds that he would not be out by night for any * Vide A Walk across Africa, Grant, pp. 200, 227 et passim. Also Life of Mackay, p. 197. ' Two Kings of Uganda, Ashe, p. 82. WA-FRANSA AND WA-INQLEZA, 69 good purpose. Now, on the contrary, drunken revel- lers with drums and arms might make night hideous by their shouts, till some one, more excited and bois- terous than the rest, beat the well-known war-note on the drum in sheer bravado, and set the whole country in a blaze, and there was no one to stop him. The land was divided into two hostile camps, and every evil-doer was championed by his faction. Mwa- nga, of course, chose the stronger — the Wa-Fransa; they had more white men than the Wa-Ingleza^ more arms, more people. He dare not punish one of this faction, lest he should alienate himself from them. I will ask the reader to pause and try to realise the diflSculty of my position. In order to gain the con- fidence of the Wa-Fransa, it was necessary to treat them precisely as the Wa-Ingleza, though the bulk of the one faction was bitterly hostile to me, while the other was loyal. Moreover, common-sense com- pelled me to suppose that the party which had suffered the most injustice from the other was likely to be the weaker one. It was most improbable that the stronger had been suffering constant eviction and dep- rivation of their rights at the hands of the weaker. If I turned to the European missionaries (as knowing the language and the customs of the people), I found that either side believed implicitly the statements of their own party. The Frenchmen wrote to Europe of the turbulent and '^ intolerant blacks," — the heret- ical Protestants, — and insisted that their patient con- verts had suffered continuous injustice and violence from them. The English missionaries similarly be- lieved that injury after injury had been patiently endured by their "flock,'' who had done nothing by way of reprisal. My own belief was that the Wa- ganda were par excellence the greatest liars of any 70 DIFFICULTIES IN UGANDA. nation or tribe I had met or heard of, and that it appeared to be a point of honour that each side should out -lie the other — especially to their missionaries, as indeed they naively acknowledged one day to WiUiams. Meanwhile, so far as I could judge from the inquiries I made, the Protestants appeared to have by far the greatest cause of complaint, — and this seemed natural, as they were the weaker party. If, however, I should give case after case in favour of the Protestants, purely because in each instance the evidence adduced should point in their favour, I should undoubtedly alienate the R. Catholics, who naturally viewed things from their own standpoint, and they would consider me partial, however absolutely unbiassed I might really be. I therefore endeavoured to find two cases, one of which appeared to be clearly in favour of the Protestants, the other of the R. Catholics, and thus, while de- ciding justly, to make the balance equal. This " pair- ing off of cases" has given umbrage to the recent writers on the R. Catholic side of the controversy.^ Meanwhile, my own men were the victims of various insults and of ill-treatment on several occasions by the peasantry of the Wa-Fraiisa, and, according to my custom, I placed each complaint in the hands of the chiefs for inquiry and redress ; but though I rarely or never obtained it, I was content to exercise patience. On Feb. 3d, as I said, the king pressed me to go against the Mohammedans, but I declined, unless he would promise me not to arbitrarily evict people of either faction from their estates. This he undertook. He said I had given him no arms as Jackson had, and kept begging me to allow him to buy arms and powder from Stokes and others ; but I declined, saying I would myself furnish all arms necessary for his pro- tection or the defence of the country. The Protestants * " Notes on Uganda," Roman Catholic Union, p. 33. CHRONIC DIFFICULTIES RE SHAMBAS. 71 at this time complained that two men of their faction had been murdered by the other party. I inquired into the matter, and told the king that in a case of murder the culprit must be executed, for one such outrage might plunge the country in war. He agreed at once, as did the chiefs of both factions, saying that this was right, and in accordance with the law of Uganda. The matter which is the chronic trouble of Uganda, is the constant litigation which arises over the estates, or shambas. I was told that this had been the great cause of all disputes, even in the arbitrary days of Mtesa, who was no respecter of pei-sons, and whose word was final. This diflBculty now assumed a critical aspect. After ousting the Mohammedans, the two fac- tions of Christians had divided all the estates between themselves. Thus a chief of a province would have under him any number of petty chiefs of either faction. These, again, would have a mixed population on their estates, and so on. Some petty little chief would have a quarrel with some of his people who belonged to the opposite faction to himself, and would promptly oust them. The report (generally exaggerated fifty or a hundred per cent) would reach a neighbouring chief, who would accordingly evict an increasingly large number of the opposite faction from his estate. Then all those evicted would come trooping to the big chiefs at the capital with greatly exaggerated stories, and they in their turn would come rushing over to me, to say several hundred people had been evicted (the real number being probably half-a-dozen), and that war was inevitable unless speedy justice were done ! Moreover, this kind of thing had been going on before our arrival, and there were piles of arrears of similar grievances. On Feb. 10th the big chiefs met in a most amicable 72 DIFFICULTIES IN UGANDA. way to endeavour to come to a solution of the dif- ficulties. They talked incessantly for six days, and my confidant, the Kauta (F.), told me on the 13th that they were in a fair way of settling the diffi- culties. I told him it would be well, in any case, for the council of arbitration to meet me. If they had agreed, I would enter it in writing ; if not, I would arbitrate. For I had established a "statute-book," in which to set down all decisions arrived at, and all laws passed, as the Waganda set great weight on a written contract. However, on the 16th the Kauta came to say that they had quarrelled over the question. Some particular estate was claimed by the Wa-Ingleza as being undeniably theirs, and they said that if the Wa- Fransa would not cede it they would expel them from it. I heard the long story through ; but in a country unsurveyed, and with no map, it is, of course, impossible for a European to understand a question of estates : moreover, the rights of land-tenure are extraordinarily complicated in Uganda. The Protestants always accused Mwanga of bias and partiality towards the Wa-Fransa; and as he was of that party, and the R. Catholics never com- plained of his partiality to the Wa-Ingleza, I presume there was some truth in it. However, I got both sides to agree to abide by the decision of the king, and we all went to the baraza together. Mwanga apparently heard the matter through, and I told him I would sup- port his decision. It was, that the estates should be made into one, and redivided. This greatly vexed the Protestants, who urged that theirs was the larger. However, I said the king s decision was final, and who- ever disputed it quarrelled with me. I urged that ** bygones should be bygones," and henceforward all evictions should cease. This the king and the chiefs warmlv ao^reed to. We sat for hours in the hottest DIVISION OF SESSl 73 time of the day in one of the smaller huts, where the atmosphere was stifling, and even the king and Wa- ganda were dissolved in perspiration, while I myself had for some days been feeling anything but well. I was, on the whole, much pleased with the result, for Mwanga had shown himself most friendly, and had repeatedly declared himself thoroughly at one with me, and " he kept constantly referring to me as his ally and partner, and the ultimate arbitrator, whose decision was final. ... At parting he said spontane- ously, that I might be assured he would let me know in case of all serious diflSculties, and he would appeal to me for advice and assistance" (diary). I, on my part, said, that if only I could be assured that the king would do justice, I would support him in all decisions, regardless of faction ; for all agreed there was no one in Uganda who so thoroughly knew the details of these shamba questions as Mwanga. The division of the lands taken from the Mohammedans had never as yet been completed, and the " shamba question," therefore, comprised the division of these lands, as well as the matter of evictions on account of quarrels between people of opposite factions. After this question was decided, the division of the islands was brought forward, — a matter which, like most of these diflSculties, was not really one of religion at all. The Sess^ group of islands is equal to about 150 square miles, being as large as one of the provinces of Uganda. It is, moreover, extremely rich ; and later, when Captain Williams visited it, he described it as far surpassing in fertility anything in Uganda proper. Under the title of " the islands," the Waganda, I understand, include not only the islands proper, but the estates on the mainland bordering the lake. Thus, w^hoever possessed "the islands" had complete com- mand of the whole of the canoes. It has already been 74 DIFFICULTIES IN UGANDA. seen how important this was in the case of the reverse at the hands of the Mohammedans. Doubtless both parties felt that if civil war should break out between themselves, the Mohammedans would descend upon them and drive them out, and then the faction which had command of the lake would have a safe asylum, while the other would be absolutely exterminated. Mwanga especially recognised this, and whenever there was any fear of war, at once had all his things tied up ready for flight to the islands. It was here he had concealed his stores of ivory and powder. Secondly, whoever held the command of the canoes had a mon- opoly of the traffic to the south of the lake. It was from thence alone that arms and powder could be procured. As I have narrated, Stokes had brought up large consignments of these to the south of the lake, which doubtless the king hoped to obtain, and he had already had offers from Arab traders in that district (p. 54), while the Wanyamwezi chiefs had vast quantities of powder stored in their country, which they were ready to sell for ivory. I think it not improbable also, that the R. Catholic chiefs thought they might obtain arms through the medium of the French Mission ; for, as I have said, it appears beyond doubt that as long as Uganda was under no European protection, and the prohibitions to the import of arms did not exist, the French Fathers did import them, and the Wa- ganda could not, of course, appreciate the difference made by international prohibitions. In writing thus, I must leave my reader to form his own conclusions as to whether it is fitting that missionaries should be the importers of arms, either for the purpose of gaining a political ascendancy for their own party, or for any other motive. For my part I think it is not ; for it appears to me impossible, that any one who has IMPORTANCE OF SESS^J. 75 lived in Africa should not appreciate the incalculable harm done by the import of arms. At the same time, it must be remembered that, according to Mr Jackson, P^re Lourdel had openly advocated their introduction, in order that the Christians might be able to anni- hilate the Mohammedans. Again, the possession of the canoes was of im- portance, because both French and English mission- aries had hitherto come only by the route through German territory to the south of the lake, and had no means of reaching Uganda except by canoes. The Protestants, having no command of these, had been unable, only a few weeks before, to send for their bishop and his party. The consequence was, as I have said, that they were delayed there for three weeks, and in the unhealthy climate of Usukuma three out of eight died, and every one of the survivors reached Uganda broken down with fever and illness. The Protestant chiefs felt this deeply. The king, in reply to the question as to whether the islands should be divided, said that they should belong to neither fac- tion, but should be his own perquisite, and both religions should be free to teach there. To this the Wa-Ingleza naturally demurred, for the king was of the opposite party, and they alone had hitherto been allowed a footing in Sess^. The people of this island were sav- ages, and I believe of a different race to the Waganda ; and the very strong feeling about the division of the islands was due, not to any furoi^e for proselytising them, but on account of the reasons I have stated. The Fathers also argued, that as Sess^ was not a part of Uganda proper, it should not be divided, any more than Usoga. But the case is in no way parallel. Sess^, from its position and its command of the canoes, was a possession of great strategic and political importance. Both factions had the right of entry into Usoga, while 76 DIFFICULTIES IN UGANDA. the Protestants were practically excluded from Sessd. Moreover, Usoga was more or less divided — both factions having, I believe, suzerain rights over petty chiefe there. But the matter is diflBcult to define accurately, for the system of land tenure and of rights of taxation of tributary states is very complicated. These two disputes, then, formed at this period the crux of my difficulties in Uganda. I find in my diary (Feb. 17th) the following note: "One thing is most marked — viz., that whatever the feeling stirred up between the parties, — and it is an inevitable conse- quence of the discussion of this question, that there should be much heartburning and jealousy, — ive are now quite exempt from it. Neither side look on us, 1 think, as having any bias at' all, and both, as well as the king, appeal to us for justice and help. To have achieved this is in itself a great gain." The excellent little Kauta — one of the shrewdest of the R. Catholic chiefs — remained my intimate friend and confidant, and I even visited him late at night alone, to talk over matters, and obtain his views privately, after I had been engaged all day in these public dis- cussions. Zachariah was the man I most trusted and believed in on the Protestant side. Meanwhile our work progressed at Kampala. Our principal store was finished, and a large underground fire -proof powder-magazine completed. Office returns were all up to date in Grant's indefatigable hands, and Williams' little army was the admiration and wonder of crowds of Waganda who daily collected to see them drill. As we had no place or table large enough to dine together. Grant and I shared meals, and Williams and De Winton did the same ; and be- tween us all, I am glad to say, the most cordial feeling possible existed. On the 1 3th, Messrs Gordon and Smith left to establish QUARREL IN BARAZA. 77 a mission in Usoga without any reference to me. On the 18th there was a much less satisfactory haraza on the shamba question, and the king did not, it appeared to me, endeavour to show impartiality. " The Wa- Fran^a^'' I write, *' prompted all his replies, and he gave his hand to one and another of them to be fondled (in his execrable way), and to them he constantly turned for applause." He was, in fact, obviously identifying himself solely with one faction, and arguing their side. " The Wa-Ingleza, too, had told me that what had been said by me in the previous haraza had been understood as an announcement that I would back up the king in every matter, and that the Fraiisa faction were jubilant, saying that instead of being weakened by our arrival, as they had expected, they were now much strengthened, for the king could now do as he liked, and all he did would be backed by force. Consequently I obtained a silence, and told the king that I came to ask him to do justice in this matter, for I had told him that as long as he did justice I would back him up, but if he did not, I would cease to support him, and would do justice myself There was a dead silence, and obviously the " French " party did not relish this plain announcement, while the " English " were delighted. Williams, who was with me on this occasion, says the king " looked quite green " at this very plain speaking and challenge, but he agi*eed at once, and said he would do justice" (diary). The argument about the shamhas became very hot, and at last the Katikiro (head chief of the Wa-Ligleza) ap- parently spoke somewhat roughly to the king. Mwanga lost his temper, and rose and left the haraza, which broke up in disorder. I sent a message to the king by the Kauta, to say I wished to speak to him in private. He immediately returned, and Williams and I saw him with closed doors, only the Mujasi (F.) and 78 DIFFICULTIES IN UGANDA. Kauta (F.) being present. I pointed out to him that both factions were his own subjects, and that if he wished to restore peace to his country, he must take an impartial view, suitable to a big king, to whom all parties came for justice. That I was a Protestant, yet he had only to ask the Kauta and R. Catholics as to my impartiality and fairness to both sides ; that I understood he was a R. Catholic, but that this must make no diflference to his justice, any more than my creed did to mine : that I could only support him if he was just : that I had, since coming to Uganda, heard very much of the grievances of both sides, and though I could not understand all the rights involved in this shamba question, and could not tell whom to believe, — since each side told me the other had said nothing but lies, and since I did not know the size of the estates which were pitted against each other, or their history, — yet, after all I had heard, the impression left on my mind was that the Wa-Ingleza had lost many shambas unfairly, which should be restored. I did not say that this was a fact, but that it was my impression after carefully hearing both sides. This the king did not deny, and even the Mujasi and Kauta were silent. **I then spoke of the division of Sess(5, and said that if he agreed to divide the islands, I thought I could the more easily settle the shamha question. He eventually agreed to divide Sesse, if the Protestants would undertake not to evict the boatmen, and this I said I would at once go and settle. We talked till long after dark, while a huge blazing fire inside the house lit up the whole place." I wish I could present to my reader s imagination the vivid picture that is before my mind's eye of the lofty grass hut, whose interior is a forest of poles, supporting the heavy roof, the walls of cleanly washed vertical bamboo reeds, each tied in its place with perfect regu- PRIVATE CONFERENCE WITH MWANGA. 79 laxity. The floor is strewn with a soft fine grass, like new-mown English hay, but finer, and free from bladed grasses, which is kept for this purpose. A blazing log- fire, tended by a small boy, sends its glow on our faces, as we sit absorbed, trying to get Mwanga to grasp the great idea of impartial justice. The king in his white kanzu is seated on his carpet, and the two chiefs near him, both of whom speak Swahili fluently, listen with faces of rapt attention. "We then went to the Katikiro, and had a very long talk over the skamha question, and he promised to restore the men who had been evicted. He was delighted about Sess^, and promised to oust no one at 80 DIFFICULTIES IN UGANDA. all." And so we returned late in the night to Kam- pala to eat our dinner at last, having had nothing since breakfast. My R. Catholic critics infer that I shelved the questions which troubled Uganda. Could they read each day's record, as it lies before me here in my diary, they would at least, I think, credit me with unwearied effort^ though they may deny my ability. "Early next morning (Feb. 19th) I found that the country was assembling for war, having heard the news that the king and Katikiro had quarrelled. The " French " faction had begun it, and had assembled in great numbers, and the hills were covered with them towards their side, and on the King s Hill. Just as I came forward I saw a huge mass of men rushing along from the north : these were the " English " faction run- ning forward to the battle. I told Duta to stop them at once, and that I should fire on any masses of men who would not disperse. They halted where they were. We were now so used to rumours of war, that I had not at first looked on it with much anxiety, but I soon saw that it was a very serious matter, and that the whole country was up. I marched with Williams and a company of Sudanese to the top of the King s Hill, where the Wa-Fransa had assembled. On the way I met the Kauta and Sekibobo (F.), and told them to send men rapidly to disperse their people. This they did, for the chiefs themselves (more especially these two) are very great friends with me now, and have long since ceased to wish for war, or for a quarrel with us. By the time we arrived on the Kings Hill they had mostly left the vicinity, but large crowds stood on the hills round, and would not disperse though messengers were sent to them. So I formed up the Blacks in extended order down on the knee, and bayonets fixed, and sent for the Maxim, and said I would open fire in a few minutes. The sight SETTLEMENT BY NIGHT. 81 of the gun made them tail off a bit " (diary). I then went and told the king all was quiet, and he was very grateful. Shortly afterwards I had a discussion at Kampala about the points in dispute. "I called on the Pro- testants to name four shambas of which they had been unjustly dispossessed, and they did so. Then one by one I argued them out with the R. Catholics, and they practically agreed they were really Ingleza estates. I then called on the R. Catholics to name four, which they did with a similar result. They could name no more, but the Protestants added a great many, most of which seemed to be really theirs. All was done with little friction. ... In the afternoon six or seven rapid shots were heard, and soon after the huts, from which they had come, were in flames. Immedi- ately the whole country was up again. A Protestant had stolen some pombe from a R. Catholic. The latter came to recover it, and there was a row, and some shots were fired. There were some marvellously close shaves, but no one was seriously hurt. So again I had to go down with the Sudanese and draw them up across the road, and sent men to tell the crowds to disperse or I would fire on them, and that there was no war. After much trouble and difficulty we again restored peace, and caught the originators of the trouble, — both petty chiefs. " I went to see the king, who begged me to settle the affair at once, or the country would ' sleep badly ' — viz., there would be preparations at night for war in the morning. So I went to the Katikiro, who sent for the culprits, and he and all the big chiefs followed to Kampala. They sat in the centre of the fort on skins, &c., spread for them, — a very large assembly. It is a contrast to the state of thin^fs some two months ago, when we were expecting an attack from these VOL. ir. F 82 DIFFICULTIES IN UGANDA. men. Now, unarmed, they sit and talk one of their biggest shauris (conferences) by night in my fort, though the gates are closed." After discussing the question among themselves, they referred to me. I could not find out who fired the first shot, and I said that if we could ascertain that, I thought the man should be executed, as he had nearly plunged the coun- try in war. To this, however, both factions demurred, for no one had been killed, and they held the man who had stolen the liquor to be responsible, as having begun the quarrel. So I agreed, and put the thief in handcuffs in our guardroom. He was a Protestant. This quieted the people, and the news soon spread through the country that the matter was ended, and the fear of war next morning passed over. Next day, at the king's request, I sent the prisoner to him to be dealt with by the law of Uganda. He was to pay for the huts burnt, and double for everything stolen, as well as a fine. At my suggestion the other man concerned in the quarrel was also punished, but not so heavily. I heard from my men who were in charge of " Gedge s house," that the people of Mujasi, Salo-Salo, and Kaima (all F.) were still disaffected towards us, and they had even told Cuthbert, my informant (who spoke Kiganda well), that they should attack us in case of war ; but the leaders of the faction — the Kimbugwe, Kauta, Sekibobo, and others — had all proved them- selves our staunch allies. I find in my diary (20th) the following somewhat interesting, if quaint, entry. After speaking very strongly in praise of the Sekibobo (F.), I go on to speak of Zachariah (E.) : ** I look on him as the best man in Uganda, most thoroughly straight and trustworthy, and a very great favourite all round. The B,. Catholics like him very much, and so does the king. He is never one who brings stories of the opposite side's treachery, &c. I called him on one side PEACE AND MWANGA's GRATITUDE. 83 and asked him the news. He said that yesterday, after the trouble, the king had held a big baraza. He said to them all, ' This Captain has come here, and said he had come to help the country, but till now I did not believe it. Then you all quarrelled in the baraza about the sha/mhas, and I [Mwanga] left in a rage, but I got a message saying the Captain wished to see me, and I came. " ' And the Captain said, " This land of yours is being spoilt altogether, and will be plunged in war. And why ? Who is spoiling it ? You yourself" He said, "Why don't you do justice? All the people are yours, both sides alike. They have no king but you ; both come to you for justice, but the Wa-Ingleza tell me that you do not do justice for them, and favour the Wa-Fransay I said that I did justice ; he an- swered, " Well, then, if you do justice, divide Sessd. Ever since I have been in the land, the Wa-Ingleza say, ' If the king did justice, he would divide Sess^.' " I refused, and said if they wished they could go and teach there, but I would not divide Sess^. To this he said, '* All right : now I see you won t do justice, and if you won't, then it is your own fault." And I got afraid, and thought perhaps this Captain speaks true, and this is the real way to restore peace to the country. And I said, " I will divide Sessd." And he was pleased, and said if I did, that all the people would see I did right for both sides, and the troubles about the shambas would quickly be settled. And then I began to believe that he had really come to settle the country, and for this work only, and no other. And I saw that this was indeed the way to do it. " ' And after he had gone, I went to my bed, and I thought over these things, and I saw that this was indeed true, and that when he said I could not have two people in my house and not treat both alike, he 84 DIFFICULTIES IN UGANDA, was right. And then in the morning the war began. And who stopped the war ? This Captain stopped it, and he was just the same to both sides. And how did he stop it ? Without shedding any blood at all. He came and stood between, and told all the people to cease from war, and brought his cannon, and they ceased. And if he had not done this, what would have happened ? All this country would now be desolate, half the peo- ple would be dead, all of you would not be here, all Uganda would be spoilt. And now I truly believe that he has come to help me, and to bring peace to the country, and his heart is white [viz., without double- dealing]. And all the time he has been in Uganda we have had no wrong or harm at his hands. Whose things has he stolen, or whom has he hurt all this time ? And now, my people, I mean to do justice, and to treat both sides alike, and I will divide Sess^,' " &c. I quote this passage word for word, as I wrote with Zachariah's words still in my ears. For it shows a marked improvement on the cruel tyrant delighting in the lingering tortures of the victims he hacked limb from limb, and then burned alive in the flames. Un- fortunately Mwanga's character was not strong enough to keep him always at his best, and his weakness cost him dear, as my story by-and-by will show. Zachariah had barely finished his account when men came running in to say that some Wa-Iiigleza, re- turning from Chagwd, had been attacked by the Wa- Fransa of Salo-Salo's place, and two killed. Again the war-drums beat, and the amiies assembled for war in an incredibly short time. The king, I was told, had already sent to arrest the murderers, and he begged me to go to the Katikiro to try and prevent hostilities. The Wa-Ingleza were dejected, and ex- claimed that it was always the same story, — fresh out- rages and no satisfaction — fresh provocations to war. WAR AVERTED AGAIN* 85 I told them not to be fools, but to come out with me and help to stop the battle. Coming out of the Kati- kiro's house, *' I found the whole country up once more, and huge crowds of the Fransa faction collecting on the hills, with a large red-and-white flag (which was, I understand, the French flag). ... I held the hill with twenty men, who had formed our escort to the king. It was Zachariah who had urged my taking a strong escort, when I was starting with two Zanzibaris only. They were now very handy, for already the hill was becoming crowded with armed men, who were sneak- ing into the king's enclosure from the back and sides. Meanwhile I sent for a reinforcement and the Maxim. Larger crowds than ever assembled, but were almost entirely Wa-Fransa. The * English ' had been warned not to turn out. As before, the Sekibobo, Kauta, and Kimbugwe worked very hard to quell the rising " (diary). Again we succeeded with difficulty, and returned home tired out — just in time to meet the other army coming from the northern quarter, and to disperse them. These were days of ceaseless anxiety and strain, and told on me considerably ; but it was simply an in- calculable relief to have a man like Williams by my side, on whom I could absolutely rely, and whose pluck was equal to every emergency. In my private diary I make the following note, which is a significant com- mentary on the events which happened a year later : '* There is no denying that most of the outrages, since I have been here, have been committed by the Fransa party ; that it is they who have turned out for war, and are violating the treaty ; and if they continue in this course they will invite the destruction of their party — not because they are R. Catholics, but because they are rebels against the British authority and the treaty signed by the king and their own chiefs." On Feb. 21st the French bishop returned to Uganda 86 DIFFICULTIES IN UGANDA. with several new Fathers. It will be remembered that he had left a day or two after my arrival, and before the treaty was signed. They called on the 23d, and Mgr. said: ''(1.) That the country was now at the point of war ; all the people were counting their guns, and determined to fight. Sooner than divide Sesse, the R. Catholics would fight. Yet he said at another moment that Sesse was not R. Catholic, but neutral. [I afterwards inquired from the king and chiefs about this ; they replied that it was wholly untrue, that there was no immediate talk of war, and the king said he would settle the Sess^ division amicably.] (2.) That the people confidently expected help from the Germans in case of war. I laughed at this, and they replied with innuendoes that it was true, and in such manner and tone as to try and convince, or at least frighten, me ; and added, they had seen arms with the German mark on them in Sess^, and hinted that supplies of powder came from there. I did not like this at all. I absolutely don't believe a word of it, and the way it was said looked to me very like an attempt at intimidation. ... I object also to the mean accusation against the honour of the Germans. This sticks in my throat dread- fully" (diary). I may note that a year later, when the war broke out, there were almost precisely the same innuendoes, and the Germans were, I believe, appealed to for aid, but my conception of German honour and good faith proved more correct than that of the Fathers. (3.) "They stated that the Wa-Ingleza already had the lion s share of the division of Uganda, having two- thirds of the total country, as against one-third to the Wa-Fraiisa, This appears unlikely, since they are numerically the weaker, but is arrived at by count- ing the province which owns a Protestant head chief UNSATISFACTORY INTERVIEW WITH MGR. 87 as Protestant, and vice versd. This is a quibble, for the actual estates in each province belong to both fac- tions indiscriminately, and the chieftainship is merely an office. Moreover, even so I doubt the accuracy of the statement. Singo would thus be accounted Protes- tant, whereas at least two- thirds of it is deserted and uninhabited, because of the Mohammedan raids. They made several other complaints of a general nature, as to the " continual concessions " made by the B,. Catho- lics,— the way they were constantly evicted, &c. " The bishop remarked that all this trouble was quite new since he went, inferring that we had only made con- fusion worse confounded, and spoilt the country. This was taken up most nicely by P^re Brard (who has been here throughout), who pointed out that the trouble had arisen solely over the shamha question, and the country had been very quiet before. Altogether, this interview was unsatisfactory, and Williams was very greatly dis- gusted, saying it looked as though they were deliber- ately misstating facts, — a thing one is more than loth to believe possible. I put it down mostly to misinfor- mation." I quote this interview because it indicates the general attitude of Mgr. Hirth. He knew my position to be full of difficulty, and I understand on the best authority that he has recently, in his evidence before the commission of inquiry, stated that he had no complaint against my administration at this period, which he considers to have been impartial ; yet instead of offering me friendly advice, and trying to co-operate with me, he showed nothing but a vehement partisan- ship, and almost threatened to encourage war, unless I complied with his ideas, which, it needed no knowledge of the questions to see, were narrow and heated. I saw the king in the evening, and he was most vehemently grateful for the way in which we had saved the land a second time from war. He said he should 88 DIFFICULTIES IN UGANDA. consult me in every little thing ; that he saw the only- way to save Uganda was to make both sides exactly equal, that he meant to do so, and that we would de- cide every matter together, both great and small, and then make the chiefs obey us. He said " that I was his bed, his food, his house, and his power, and he should do nothing without me." Zachariah (E.) was appointed his messenger to me, and he asked me to make up the quarrel between himself and the Katikiro, which I did, impressing, at the same time, on the latter, patience and forbearance in this question of the shambas. So Williams and I returned by moonlight to our dinner. Some looting had taken place when the cry of war was raised, and the king appears to have inquired most im- partially into it, fining every man (of either faction) double the value of the stolen property. I had been told by the administrator that my idea of trying to gain a personal influence with Mwanga was ridiculous ; but I think that, in the two months since I entered Uganda, we had taught him both to fear and respect us, and even to trust us. For Mwanga, who trembled at his own shadow, now received Williams, Dualla, and myself alone by night in his private house without fear, with only one small page-boy in attend- ance. It was at this time (Feb. 25th) that I received the letter from Mgr. which I have described in my reports as "extremely ill-advised." After various complaints he added that hitherto the Fathers had endeavoured to prevent the R. Catholics from taking arms, but that a conflict could only be avoided if justice was now done. On inquiry I found that the king and chiefs had heard no talk of taking up arms. I told Mwanga that I thought it wrong for isolated individuals to go to the Fathers with their stories, before they had mentioned the case either to himself or to me : INFLUENCE OF MUJASI. 89 the missionaries were purely concerned with religion, nor was it fitting that they should write letters on these questions, which practically amounted to a threat of war, and were calculated to stir up the bad feeling I had been at such pains to allay. Long afterwards, I had occasion to say much the same of the English missionaries, I went to Mgr. and endeavoured to get him to understand that, for every complaint of his party, I had at least an equivalent from the other side, and begged him to let me know fully any cause of complaint he heard of Ultimately, I think, he became convinced that I was honestly trying my best for both, and we parted on excellent terms. For my own part, I thought I could trace the solu- tion of the matter. The Mujasi was a R. Catholic. He had refused to come and see us, and was almost the only chief of importance who was our declared enemy. I heard reports from my men who lived at Gedge's house, of the threats which emanated from his people in their nightly revels, not against the Wa- Ingleza alone, but against us. He was the king's confidant, and lived in his house. Since the time the king had declared himself eager to co-operate with me, and to act without bias, I had noticed that the Mujasi w^as no longer there, as he had invariably been before. This boy-chief had been bred and brought up in the French Mission, and was a very great favourite of the Fathers, who, I think, believed implicitly all he said. But I believe him to have been (like most Waganda) untruthful. [The Fathers stated that in the war a year later the Mujasi *' penetrated into the Fort Kampala under the fire of two Maxims," &c. This, I suppose, was his own version. He never was within 500 yards of the fort on that day. I could quote other cases, but it is superfluous to prove a Mganda untruthfiil.] He was now, I fancy, more bitter and hostile than 90 DIFFICULTIES IN UGANDA. ever. When Mgr. made one or two assertions which surprised me at our interview, and I asked their source, he named the Mujasi. This man was at the root of the trouble throughout. A year later, when war broke out, it was from his place that the war- drums beat first, and I myself believe firmly, that it was due to him more than to any other that the civil wai' took place. I shall later have a good deal to say about him. 92 DIFFICULTIES IN UGANDA. My view — Williams* subsequent action — Various disputes settled — Mails arrive — French missions to Usoga — Rights of missions' extension — Status of missionaries in British territory — State of Usoga — Show parade— Uganda police— Case of Mondu — Agree to fight Mohammedans — Choice of the General — Martin's arrival with the envoys— Stat-e reception — Samweli's announcement — Beating of royal war-drums — Departure of Katikiro's army — Martin to coast — Bagge to Usukuma — DriU^|fjjU£^oops — R. Catholic critics. The matter of the outrage on the Protestants return- ing from Chagwe, which had so nearly led to war (p. 84), had blown over, and when the men sent to investigate it returned, they reported that no one had been killed, and only two wounded. Another matter on the 26th, when some Wa-Fransa were said to have surrounded the hut of a man of the "English" faction, was in process of investigation, as also a case in which the Pokino's (E.) people were reported to have resisted the orders of the king about a disputed estate. Evic- tions still took place on either side. The Wa-Frayisa claimed to have had 100 ousted on one occasion, and the Wa-Ingleza had even a larger number. Zachariah told me privately that this was all nonsense : two had been turned out on the one side and three on the other ; the rest were followers ! On the 27th I got the king to announce in haraza — "(l) that on no account whatever should any chief evict any man from his shamba without the express order of the haraza, and if he did so he should be liable to lose his place. (2) That all the dwellers on any estate should do the work of the chief immediately over them, and he again of his superiors, providing the customary food or tribute, &c., entirely irrespective of creed or party." Both sides emphatically approved of this law, which was entered in the newly instituted statute-book, and the Kimbugwe (F.) made an admi- rable speech -about it. One of the greatest grievances of the Protestants {re estates) had been in the case of BUILDINGS IN KAMPALA. 93 Mondu. The district in question was a very large one, which had been divided into six estates : of these, the Wa-Fransa were to have three and the Wa-Ingleza three, but the former had appropriated the whole. The Wa-Fransa agreed to the king's verdict of restitution, but Mondu himself refused to move. The king talked of sending war to enforce his decision, but the Protes- tants knew that this would mean a general appeal to arms, so they decided to wait till Mondu came to the capital, and then to reopen it. It was very long before they obtained their rights in this matter, and I merely quote it to show how difficult it was to avoid war, even after both sides had come to an agreement. The case of Paulo (E.) was identical with this, the Wa-Fransa refusing to leave. Another grievance of the Protestants was that their faction was entirely excluded from the king s court, and the offices about his person, which, with his body-guard, were entirely filled with R. Catholics. Zachariah's appointment as the king's messenger to me, I looked on as at least one important appointment for the Protestants. He did not, however, sleep in the king's enclosure, and could not therefore be classed as exactly one of his attendants. I spoke to the king about it, but he made no promises. Things began to look more settled now, and I had time myself to work at making the gates for the forts, and planning the new guard-house and native houses, &c. Our store, 30 ft. by 15 ft., was completed. I was head artisan, and undertook any special job. I also had the boun- daries of Kampala delimited by a messenger from the king, and found that he had^given us a very large estate, including the knoll on which the fort was built, the intervening valley, and half-way up the hill of Namilembe opposite. I now brought forward seven diflferent outrages 94 DIFFICULTIES IN UGANDA. which had been committed on my own men, but said I would waive all except the last, which was of recent date, and most unpardonable. Some men had set on the Somal who tended our flock on the slopes of Kampala, and beaten him severely. As the Somals were enlisted soldiers, and very well behaved, I could not overlook the matter. The king did his best, but the men had fled, so their house was fired. At the haraza on the 28th, when I went to reconcile the Katikiro (E.) to the king and Kimbugwe (F.), Mwanga pointed out to the latter that all the outrages com- mitted on my men had been done by the R. Catholics. The experiment of a local police force, already sug- gested by me, was at this time carried out. It was well received, and each faction was to provide six men, to whom I would add some of mine. This mixed force was to patrol the roads, — the Waganda being dressed in scarlet calico jackets, so as to be easily recognisable,^ — and to seize all thieves and rowdies, as well as prevent the carrying of arms in the streets. The " English " faction regularly sent their six men, but I never suc- ceeded in getting more than one or two of the " French '' police, in spite of continual effort. I regretted this the more, because complaints had been made that Pro- testants had seized the little crosses which the R. Catholics wore as their distinctive emblem round their necks, and had torn them from women and small boys. I had failed to get any clear evidence on this point (as also, apparently, had Bishop Tucker and the French priests in their conference), and I was only too anxious to catch a Protestant in the act, and to make a not- able example of him. The Wa-Fransa police would, I had hoped, have been particularly eager to catch a culprit, and my men would have assisted them. However, though great pains were taken with this attempt at a police force, it never succeeded, for the DIFFICULTIES RE CHANGE OF FACTION. 95 Waganda are entirely unadapted by nature and tem- perament to such routine work. They will fight bravely in war, but are absolutely useless for garrison duties, for sentries, police, and patrols, and they greatly dislike the duty. The rains broke at the beginning of March, and we had constant torrents daily. The king continued most cordial, as did the leading R. C. chiefs ; but I was told that the lesser people of the Wa-Fraiisa still detested us, while the Protestants looked on us as their saviours, saying that at the time we came they were in despair, and daily thought of leaving the country, but now obtained justice. The king's mother — the Namasole — came to visit us in state, — an indication of the improved relations which now existed. Another case of eviction was reported on the 6th. This time the offender was a Protestant. I told him he had broken the agreement, and was liable to lose his place, and sent him to the Sekibobo to plead for pardon, and the evicted people were at once reinstated. The chiefs, however, said that the agreement had not been prom- ulgated, and the outlying people did not know of it, so it was arranged that each party should tell all their people on the 8th (Sunday), when they assembled at church. A new source of trouble now arose. The Protestants asked whether, if a man changed his religion, he should forfeit his estates and office ? This, it was stated, had been agreed in the treaty between the factions. I agreed that the twelve great chieftainships of Uganda should continue to be held equally by either faction ; and that, if one of these changed his religion, he should be super- seded by a chief of the same faction, so as to maintain the balance of the political parties in the haraza ; but that all others should be free to change their creed as often as they pleased. On the 5th I took the book to 96 DIFFICULTIES IN UGANDA. haraza to enter this, but apparently I had been mis- understood ; for when I asked the names of the twelve chiefs, the Wa-Ingleza demanded thjat all the lesser chiefs named in the agreement (some 600 I was told) should be included. The other side behaved very well. They said they were in fiivour of complete freedcwn of creed, but put themselves in my hands, and would agree to what I said. My experience had led me to defer a hasty decision in all matters, however preconvinced I might be of the expediency of a certain course ; for where there was strong opposition from either faction, there was gener- ally more in the matter than met the eye. I therefore said I would discuss it quietly with three of each side, and let the king know the result later. I was, of course, myself strongly in favour of complete freedom in the choice of religion. '* The Wa-Ingleza demurred, because they said that the real Christians in the country were a very, very small minority, and the rest would go over in large numbers to the religion, or rather faction, of the king, whatever it might be (and he is nominally a R. Catholic, or * French'). They had only been deterred so far by fearing to lose their places and estates. Now, if these restrictions were removed, the ' English ' political party would be deci- mated, and then, if trouble arose and the parties turned out to fight, the ' French ' would not be restrained, but would go for the small residue of Protestants left, and destroy them. "At present, one reason for the maintenance of peace had been that the two parties were so evenly matched, that all knew that a war would be the de- struction of the whole country. Moreover, they now had the ingress into the shamhas of the professing Protestants ; but if these became * French,' they would no longer have the opportunity of spreading their DIFFICULTIES JRE CHANGE OF FACTION. 97 religion among them. Further, they accused me of breaking the treaty I had made. For at the time they all signed it, the R. Catholics had drawn up a codicil that their old treaty regarding religion should not be broken, and I had signed this. Now the posi- tion was reversed, the Wa-Fransa being willing to follow me with full confidence, while the Wa-Ingleza took the codicil (a weapon the Wa - Fransa had forged) and used it against me. The question was a difficult one. If their conclusions — about men going over to the faction of the king — are sound (and all are unanimous, and the R. Catholics do not deny it), then by forcing this agreement I should deal a very heavy blow to the Ingleza faction. ... I do not wish to do this to the party who stood by me, and threw in their lot with me, when I came here. Moreover, I think that, just at present, a balance of power in the state is most desirable. So I had a council of chiefs again in the evening. The Wa-Fi^ansa behaved really admirably, and said they would leave it all in my hands and act on my decision." I have thus quoted from my diary to show what were my views and actions at the time, and to prove thereby, so far as I can, that I am not discussing the question by the light of recent criticism, but telling events as they actually happened, and narrat- ing my own action, even though it be condemned as mistaken. Had the question really been one of liberty of conscience and religious toleration, nothing could have persuaded me to favour anything but an absolute freedom of creed. It was, however, not a religious question, though it is easy, by substituting the names Protestant and R. Catholic for Ingleza and Fi^ansa, to make it appear so.^ The Protestants said they had no fear whatever of any of their sect going over to the ^ Notes on Uganda, p. 34, 4, a. VOL. II. G 98 DIFFICULTIES IN UGANDA. R. Catholics — any one was free to do that ; and in such a case there really was no difficulty whatever about forfeiture of estates, for both parties have estates and to spare to give to bond Jide converts. For the population, owing to continual war and to Mwangas persecutions, was reduced by half, besides which there were the estates formerly held by Mohammedans and heathen. So far as the comparative toleration of the two sects is concerned, I am quite convinced that it is erroneous to say that the R. Catholics were ani- mated by a spirit of toleration and wished for absolute liberty of conscience, while the Protestants wished to coierce people into following their religion. All these evictions were produced solely by religious intolerance, and the attempt to force the dwellers on an estate to follow a particular creed ; and in this matter, as I have said, I think the R. Catholics had taken the lead. Long afterwards I had complaints from the Kamaniro, (an old heathen chief who detested both religions), of the persecution he had suffered at the hands of the R. Catholics to force him to espouse their sect ; and his case was by no means singular. I was myself struck with the toleration as regards religion, of the Protestants, when the country was divided after the war in 1892. I insisted that in the Protestant provinces the R. Catholics should still be free (if unarmed) to teach and propagate their religion — a request I could not dare to make to the R. Catholics in their province as regards the Pro- testant creed. I expected strong opposition to this, but the unanimous reply of the Protestant chiefs is still fresh in my memory — " Surely, surely, we cannot coerce the religion of God?" (**Ndio, ndio, hatuwezi kuzuia dini za Muungu ? ") I do not mean to say the Protestants were usually tolerant. Neither sect was LIBERTY OF CONSCIENCE V, CHANGE OF POLITICS. 99 SO. But the teaching of the missionaries gave the cue to their followers. The Fathers looked on Protestant- ism as a heresy which they were bound to combat and expose. On the other hand, I myself discussed the question of toleration at various times with Protestant chiefs, and I understood them to say that their mis- sionaries had taught them that every man should be allowed to worship God in his own way. My own subsequent action will prove, I think, that I included them all, Moslem as well as Christian, in my own doctrine of toleration, leaving God to judge which was acceptable to Himself The question, therefore, was not one of liberty of con- science, for which no one could be a stronger advocate than I am. It was a question as to whether such adherents of the Wa-Ingleza as were heathen, should continue to occupy 5^am6a5 adjudged by the chiefs, at the division of the country, to belong to the Ingleza faction, in the event of their electing to follow the king, and become part of the Wa-F7'a7isa fighting force. The king had declared himself to be of one of the two factions — viz., the Fransa; but that he was not a R. Catholic properly so called, it is hardly necessary to demonstrate. His plurality of wives, and his practice of obscene and unnatural vices, prevented the Fathers from receiving him into the Church. A year later, when he was reported to have made great progress in the R. Catholic faith, ^ these things still continued, and are vouched for in a lettet to me from P^re Achte at that time. The king, then, instead of maintaining a neutral position between the factions, though entirely unconverted to the R. Catholic faith, had declared himself of the Fransa faction. His prestige would induce the mass of the people to declare themselves of his following, fearing lest, if they re- » Mgr. Hirth's letter, * Daily News,* May 30th, 1892, &c. 100 DIFFICULTIES IN UGANDA. mained Wa-Ingleza, they should be accounted to belong to the faction opposed to that of their king. Had I supported a change which would thus have resulted in the annihilation of the Wa-Ingleza, — the loyal minority who had supported me throughout, — I might indeed have laid myself open to the charge of interfering with the established authorities and the system I found in the country, while as yet I had no other system of rule to substitute for it.^ My own wish was to reduce the 600 chiefs, said to have been named in this agreement, to some thirty, who should be inalienable from the Ingleza party, and then to declare all others in Uganda free to join which faction they wished, without forfeiting the estates be- longing to the faction they abandoned. This compro- mise, however, did not satisfy the Wa-Iiigleza though the missions supported it. It was then agreed by both parties, that the present condition of affairs should remain until the treaty expired — viz., for two years. This did not please the king, who, of course, wished to secure the chance of all the heathen declaring themselves of his faction, while they still retained the estates belonging to the Wa-Ingleza, Ultimately the Protestants told me, that if the envoys came to say that Uganda was British, there would be no fear of defections to the Wa-Fransa, Consequently, though I could not see the force of the argument at all, I was willing to agree that things should remain in statu quo till the envoys (now daily expected) should arrive, after which there should be no restriction on change of faction. I entered this tentatively in the statute-book, but it remained unsigned; for though the king and R. Catholic chiefs were pleased, the Protestant mission- aries now accused me of having struck a blow at their * Notes on Uganda, R. C. Union, p. 25. « WILLIAMS' SUBSEQUENT ACTION. 101 party which must lead to annihilation. The bulk of the Protestant chiefs, moreover, repudiated the course which had been proposed to me by several of their most influential leaders, and to which (solely on their showing) I had consented. I said that it was the Protestants themselves who had urged upon me this course, and that possibly on the arrival of the envoys the question might be reopened. As a matter of fact, within a day or so of their arrival we marched out to war against the Mohammedans, and the question was not raised. Later, Captain Williams, acting in my absence, had to adjudicate on the matter. He found my entry in the statute-book, and insisted on carrying it out — viz., in declaring every man free to join what religion or faction he pleased, and still to retain his estates. The R. Catholics promised if this were done, to hoist the British flag throughout Uganda. This promise they never kept. At the time that Captain Williams carried this matter through, he was not, I think, aware of my views on this question as I have described them. His action was met by a written protest from the English missionaries, couched in very strong language. On the 10th March we had a conference at Kampala. The R. Catholics produced a list of twenty-four cases, the Protestants a similar list. They were mostly dis- puted estates, bygone evictions, and so on. "I took one of each side in rotation, and we came to conclusions on some eight or ten separate cases ; and after settling each matter, I appointed a headman of the party on which it devolved to carry out the orders, to go and see it done, and be responsible to me. The points settled were amongst the most important, I presume, since they were named first. I have never before succeeded in getting so satisfactory a result" (diary). On the 11th March 1891 the first mails arrived. 102 DIFFICULTIES IN UGANDA. dated Christmas 1890, and intelligence that Martin with a large caravan and the envoys was behind. The news was that the envoys confirmed my words, and that Uganda was under England. Last Christmas this would in all probability have been the signal for war, but it was received now with equanimity by the Wa- Fransa chiefs and the king. The R. Catholic envoy, Martin said, had been very quarrelsome on the journey, and had even temporarily left the caravan. Matters in Uganda now quieted down considerably, and the prospect looked hopeful. The French bishop and Fathers called on me on the 12th and were most cordial, speaking strongly of the improvement visible, and the pacification of the country. Constant minor grievances from both sides came in, however, but I considered it time to take a step in advance of past methods, and I declined to hear the complaints of any petty chief, saying that we had now made a law for the adjustment of all such cases, and the complaints must be taken before the king and haraza ; nor would I interfere in any case unless it had first been pre- sented there, and was subsequently referred to me by the king, or the principal chiefs themselves. "That if force was required to support the decisions of the haraza, my soldiers were always ready ; but I would not send out a single man unless accompanied by the king's police, and a regular envoy (Mbaka) detailed to carry out the orders." On the 12th P^re Brard left to establish a mission in Usoga, whither, it will be remembered, Messrs Gordon and Smith had gone about a month previously. The Fathers referred to me on the subject — the English, as I have said, had gone without any official intimation to me. Personally I was averse to the establishment of two rival missions in Usoga, and I replied that I did not think the missions ought to go into a country under RIGHTS OF missions' EXTENSION. 103 British influence, without having previously intimated it at the coast. This could easily have been done in the case of both missions — for the missionaries for Usoga were in both cases fresh arrivals. As far as my own opinion went, it was that missionaries were of course free to go where they liked in " No-man's Land" ; but that within a " sphere of influence," they could not claim a right to go to a district, where no administra- tion had as yet been established, and no efficient protec- tion could be affi^rded them for their Hves and property. That it was useless to say that they carried these in their hands, and trusted to God ; for if any insult was offered to them, it must be taken cognisance of by the administration, which otherwise would lose prestige, since among savages the white men were all as one. The E,. Catholic bishop had raised the question on my first arrival in Uganda. He agreed that possibly appHcation ought to have been made at the coast, but it had not been done, and several missionaries had arrived with the express purpose of going to Usoga ; did I forbid it? I replied that, so far as I was per- sonally concerned, I would place no obstacle in their way, and I would write definitely to the coast and request a ruling on the matter. The reply (dated August 13th) did not arrive till the end of the year, when the French Mission had already long been aban- doned, because of the thieving and hostile propensities of the natives. I understand the Fathers blame the Uganda administration for this ! A year later I had a similar question with the Church Missionary Society, who, having withdrawn their mission, again decided to go to Usoga in spite of my official disapproval, based on many strong reasons, which I will not detail here. For my own part, I have no sympathy with this ficrore for territorial extension. The C. M. S. had sent two missionaries to Usoga, 104 DIFFICULTIES IN UGANDA. though they had but two mission - stations in all Uganda, and were greatly outnumbered by the White Fathers. Later, when they sent missions to Usoga, they had no station in Uganda, except at the capital. Uganda offers a splendid field for mission- work. The people are more eager to learn and more intel- ligent than the Wasoga. The Company (though every- thing could not be done in a moment) were in process of establishing an administration, to afford them effici- ent protection, yet these missionaries must needs em- barrass that administration by going to a country in which its authority had as yet not been fully estab- lished. These remarks, it will be seen, apply with equal force to both the French and the English mis- sions in Uganda. It appears to me that the time has come, when the status of the missionary under a British administration should be clearly laid down, and that he should not be authorised to go where the authorities prohibit his going — for reasons which in some cases may not be within his own knowledge. If this power of prohibition by the administrator be unduly exercised, public opinion in Europe can be relied upon to vindicate the rights of the missions. Supposing that the administration can see its way to allowing the missionaries to proceed to a specified district, they would understand that they would still go at their own risk — ^.e., that they could neither demand nor expect an armed garrison for their protection. Any open outrage or insult would be taken cognisance of by the secular power, which, however, could not be held responsible to forecast the horizon, or to ensure them from petty theft, &c. The first duty of the missions, if they desired to extend into a new country, would be to ascertain if they would be welcome there. The Government, in sanctioning their going, would intimate to the native chief that they are under A SHOW PARADE. 105 protection, and must be treated welL^ The right of prohibition to mission extension is rigorously enforced by the Congo Free State. Mr Gordon returned from Usoga about this time, and brought news that Arabs had penetrated there with arms and powder, which the natives were eager to buy. I felt the urgent necessity of placing a European in Usoga, but I had not a man to send. I was even more anxious to establish a station near the lake in Buddu, in order to control the canoe traffic, and prevent the import of arms, &c. ; but my appeals to headquarters for more Europeans to assist in the work had met with no response, though Mr Jackson, on his return from Uganda the previous September, had informed the Direc- tors that fourteen Europeans at least were necessary. We had a show parade one day, when it was arranged to fire both Maxims, &c. The fort was manned with great smartness by the Sudanese and Zanzibari Levy on the alarm sounding, and the former fired volleys at a target with excellent results, which produced a great effect on the crowds of Waganda, who came to see. But both Maxims broke down, and jammed hopelessly, almost at the first shot ; though a day or two later, after Williams had carefully overhauled them, the newer one, at least, worked well. The effect was good, and I was told the masses were greatly impressed by it, and at our forbearance in the face of all their provocations, when again and again our own men had been assaulted. The Waganda police, to whom I have alluded, did not get into working order till March 1 6th. The force con- sisted of a patrol of three Protestants and three R. Catholics, with six Zanzibaris, and three Sudanese. * The coxirse lately pursued in Uganda, when the missionaries were in- formed by H.M.'8 Commissioner that they might go to Toru, but he would nevertheless not be responsible for them in any way, is contrary to this view, nor can I see how the administration could fail to be involved if any disaster happened to them there. — Blue-book Africa, No. 8, 1893, p. 25. DIFFICULTIES IN UGANDA. These fifteen men went out at 8 a.m. and patrolled the roads about Mengo, returning at noon, and being re- lieved by a similar body. Their duties were to prevent men from carrying arms, and to check all disturbances. SHtiahtit. F Kampala Soldiers. Later I intended to split them up into small parties, and distribute them ; but Williams afterwards, in my absence, did not find them a success, and abandoned the idea. I now thought it a good opportunity to carry out my promise of going against the Mohammedans, who still continued to raid the frontier, for it was the season of the rains, and every day the tall bamboo-grass and rank vegetation was growing higher, and would make WE AGREE TO FIGHT MOHAMMEDANS. 107 operations more difficult. Most of the burning questions had been faced. The division of Sessd was not yet carried out, but had been agreed to. Mondu still refused to obey the law, but was repudiated by the R. Catholics, and was said to be supplied with arms for resistance by his brother, a Protestant ! I sent for the brother, and meanwhile thought the matter could well wait till our war was over. The king's household and body- guard were still solely Wa-Fransa. But very much had been achieved, and a most friendly and cordial feeling existed between the leading R. Catholic chiefs and ourselves. Of these the Sekibobo, Kago, and Kauta were men for whom I had, and still hav^, a strong personal liking, especially the two former ; also the Kangao, and the head chief Kimbugwe, and many others. Mujasi, Salo-Salo, and Kaima still stood aloof, and their influence was still against us, but it was not, I think, great. I therefore suggested that we should at once pre- pare for this expedition, and I would leave so soon as Martin and the envoys arrived. There now arose a difficulty as to who should be the general of the army. I made the following note at the time : "They came hopelessly to grief over the question. The Pro- testants say it is in this nebulous treaty of theirs^ that the general is to be chosen alternately from either side ; and they produced a paper with eleven generals of war on it, being alternate from either side, and the last being a R. Catholic, they refuse ' to forego their turn. The king and Wa-Fransa want the gen- eral to be from their side, and maintain, I think, that the last was not a proper war. Both sides and the king at once agreed to refer to me, and the haraza broke * This treaty or mutual agreement was not in writing, but it was the basis of the understanding upon which the two Christian factions had agreed to coalesce to oust the Mohammedans in 1889. 108 DIFFICULTIES IN UGANDA. up without trouble. So I went and saw the king privately. I said that this was a very big business, and we must not treat it like the former ones, but the king must himself go in command. He was * knocked into a cocked-hat ' by this, and said he was an old man ! I replied that I was older than he. He said he must stay and look after the country. I retorted, then I must do the same. After rubbing it in till he was quite uncom- fortable, I exclaimed, * All right! if you don't go yourself, then the next biggest man in Uganda must go.' He agreed at once. This, of course, is the Katikiro (E.), whom I understand to be the bravest and best general among them." So it was settled, and men departed to raise the country for war. Shortly after this Martin arrived (March 31st), and with him Mr Bagge and Dr Macpherson ; and it was a signal proof of our advance, that there was no trouble whatever about his crossing the Nile, &c. He had the most miserable collection of almost naked and half- starved cripples as porters, that I had ever seen col- lected together, many of them unarmed. There were no rolls of men, no lists of loads, and everything was in a chaos, and no one seemed to know how many men there should be ! Bagge was ill with ulcerated feet, and was being carried. I retained some of the best of Martin's men, and decided that he should hurry down as fast as he could and obtain some ammuni- tion. He had brought none, and we had only some forty rounds per man, with no reserve at all, and would have to issue some of this to the Waganda for the impending war against the Mohammedans : this (with what we might fire ourselves) would leave us almost without any ammunition, in a country where one never knew what the morrow might bring forth. I had long before urged on the Company that am- munition should be sent ; had pointed out that the STATE RECEPTION OF ENVOYS. 109 quantity I was told to take from Dagoreti was not in existence there ; and had repeated my requisitions by the mail Mr Gedge had taken down. Martin was therefore to make all possible haste to represent our urgency. He did not, however, return till the fol- lowing December, when his supplies were providen- tially just in time before the crisis came in Uganda. Bagge I determined to send with a fleet of canoes to the south of the lake, to procure supplies of cloth for our necessary food-purchase, to bring up all Stokes' guns and powder for storage at Kampala, and to beg a little ammunition from the Germans if possible (they had, however, it transpired, no Snider ammunition). It was a very great relief to have a doctor at last, and for this I was most heartily grateful. The day after the arrival of the caravan we all went to the haraza^ which was a very grand afiair, held in the kings new durbar-house, with great formalities. I introduced the new arrivals, and read the letters from the Administrator and the Consul- General at Zanzibar. The latter had made no allusion whatever to me, nor mentioned that I was the accredited agent of the Company, as I had asserted. Had we not, therefore, already made our position secure, this omis- sion might have raised suspicion that we were merely filibusters, and that our treaty might be repudiated, as Dr Peters' had been. Indeed, in a letter to the Katikiro, which was sent open under cover to me, they had even been told to go to the English bishop for advice in their disputes ! This letter I did not read in the haraza^ but handed to the Katikiro. It would have been looked on almost as an insult by the R. Catholic chiefs and the priests, I think, to be told to refer their cases to the English bishop ! Moreover, it was directly opposed to my constant dictum — viz., that the missionaries of both creeds were here to teach re- 110 DIFFICULTIES IN UGANDA. ligion only, and not to interfere in the administra- tion of the country, which was our work. The letter, moreover, contained an unfortunate allusion to the flag. Samweli, the Protestant envoy, being the bigger chief, was spokesman, and he described the incidents of their journey, — their reception at the coast, &c. ; and finally said that Uganda was ceded to British influence. I had heard (I know not if there was any truth in it) that at the time the envoys were sent, it was understood that their return would bring a crisis. Either that there would be war, or that if it was announced that Uganda was under England, the " French " party would leave the country and retire to the islands ; if under France, the ''English" party would go to Usoga. Samweli's announcement (about which he had been very nervous) was, however, received with complete composure. I then asked for canoes to go to the south of the lake for our goods, and these the king readily gave. The previous day we had had news that the enemy were raiding close to the capital, and in the evening the war-drums suddenly boomed out, and the country got under arms. Though convinced that there could be no trouble between the parties without my having had previous, intimation, I was taken by surprise ; and fearing that, as the envoys had that day arrived, and the R. Catholic envoy had had a quarrel on the way, some unexpected mischief had been made by him, I turned out my men, and we manned Kampala in the pitch-dark night, till news reached me that a fresh report having come in that the enemy had ap- proached close, and might attack the capital, the king had beaten the war-drum to warn the people. These reports were, I believe, wholly untrue, but were cir- culated to hurry up matters, or to increase the eager- ness for war. I told him he should have given me BEATING OF ROYAL WAR-DRUMS. Ill notice first, but he said he thought I would understand, and I daresay enjoyed the joke of having caused us to get under arms. The contrast between the days when I had prepared for war so often with my handful of porters and 50 soldiers, and our present turn-out, some 650 strong (with Martins men), of whom 300 had been drilled by Williams, a serviceable Maxim, and 7 Euro- peans, behind the impregnable fort at Kampala, struck me as we awaited the news. The drums having thus been already beaten, I re- quested the king, when the baraza was over, to do so again in a formal manner. " We went outside the king's enclosures, on to the hill, amid a dense concourse. It was a remarkable sight, and one seldom seen by Europeans. The huge drums of war were produced and beaten, while the king, surrounded by his chiefs, stood with an umbrella held over him. At each stroke, made with all the vigour and energy of the drummers body, he opens his mouth to its widest and gives vent to a guttural roar, which has a strange and impressive effect. We stood by the king, and dense crowds of men thronged around us. The king sent for one of the big war - drums, beaten by a grey - headed old negro, — almost the only old man holding any ofiice whatever about the court (for the king and almost all the chiefs are a parcel of boys). He had the drum beaten for me close to him- self, to show me the way the war-note was sounded. It was a piece of courtesy, which on such an occasion, and from such a man as Mwanga, had its significance. Within five minutes masses of armed men began to assemble on every side, and came pouring in dense troops towards us from every direction, rushing along, shouting and dancing and yelling. " The scene was not unlike that of a few weeks ago, when the country was all but plunged in war, and 112 DIFFICULTIES IN UGANDA. Protestants and R. Catholics were on the point of flying at each other's throats, and we stood here on this same spot and dared them to begin the civil war. But now the significance of the whole scene was changed. No longer Christian against Christian, and we against both, but all of us on the same side, about to become comrades in war against the common enemy, — Christians against Mohammedans. " Party after party came rushing to where we stood. A narrow lane was left between the masses of men on either side, up the rising ground to where the king and we stood. Up this narrow lane the war-parties rushed, and each on coming close to the king held his gun above his head, presenting the butt (as at the " head parry "), and swore the oath of loyalty, and retired to make way for others. It looked in their mimic ferocity as though they meant to dash out the brains of his Majesty ! The more loyal and the braver, the more threatening the gestures.^ At last the Mujasi, — head of the king's askari — got up, as to his legs, in one of Peters' scarlet-flannel uniforms, — arrived and took his oath of allegiance, followed by the heads of his army. He did it nicely and gracefully, and I admired the boy, though he is my hete noire. It is the custom of Uganda that the king now introduces the general he has appointed, who goes off there and then to the war. He is supposed to be a viceroy, armed for the time with all the powers of the king ; and as it is not fit- ting that two kings should sleep in the same place, he clears out ! So the Katikiro was handed over to the excited crowd, who bore him off*." We now had a busy time issuing guns on loan for the war to the different chiefs, and dealing out am- munition and bullets and powder. For this latter I made them pay, and let them have twenty (lO-lb.) * Conf. Wilson, Uganda, &c., vol. i. p. 202 ; and Speke's Journals, p. 256. MARTIN TO COAST. 113 kegs. The king tried to keep back most of this- which I issued for this war only — and I had some dijBBculty about it, but the Kimbugwe (F.) supported me strongly. The Katikiro and his army left that night (April 1st), while most of the big chiefs went off to their provinces to collect their men and follow him. The Mujasi waited in Mengo. He was always suspicious, and I was told would not leave till after I did, lest I should seize the king ! I devoted my time to writing heavy mails for the coast, to be con- veyed by Martin, who was to leave on the 6th. He had orders to recruit porters in Usoga, which would delay him some time. On the 5 th, the doctor, at my request, furnished me with a medical report regarding their journey, and stated that they " had lost many men," &c. I asked him to explain how many, and from what causes. The result was, that some very startling disclosures were made regarding the difficulties Martin had had to encounter, and the methods employed. In fact it was the old system of caravan-work which has disgraced the European in Africa ^ — the school in which, as Martin said, he had been brought up, and which was at complete variance with what I deemed to be right. I counter-ordered Martin's de- parture, and instituted a full official inquiry, which I sent to the coast. From this it appeared that Martin, in spite of protest, had been peremptorily ordered to start with many more loads than he had men to carry, and half the requisite food. He had done his best to save his loads — as though of more value than his men — and this was the result. Having been furnished with complete nominal-rolls and accounts to date of the men he took from Kampala, he started on the 7th. I then arranged Bagge's party, ^ In contrast to this, vide Felkin, Uganda, &c., vol. i. p. 327. VOL. II. H 114 DIFFICULTIES IN UGANDA. which was to proceed by canoe to the south of the lake, and gave him full instructions ; and leaving De Winton in charge at Kampala with some seventy men, mostly sick, we marched out on April 8th. The rain came down in torrents every day, and the dense vegeta- tion had grown up with tropical luxuriance. With the new arrivals our force numbered some 150 Sudanese, 160 Zanzibari Levy, and 300 porters, the latter being loaded with bags of flour, which I had long been importing from Usoga, and storing in readi- ness for this expedition. Williams, Grant, Dr Mac- pherson, and myself, with these natives (about 600), formed our portion of the army. The instruction to our fighting men had mainly consisted in teaching them — "(l) to work by bugle- sound ; (2) to fight in open order without crowding, and to preserve a tolerable line of advance ; (3) to take a careful aim when firing, and not waste ammunition, an object and distance for sighting being named when volleys were fired ; (4) to understand the general idea of advancing by rushes, taking cover, &c. , in the attack. Williams single - handed had achieved wonderful results in this short time, and the material to work with was vastly better than the pack of absolutely raw savages, with which in Nyasa- land I had last marched out to war. I may mention that at this time a messenger arrived from Kabarega, the powerful king of Unyoro, to treat for peace with Mwanga. He was entirely opposed to Europeans, and I knew his proposals were insincere. We found later, as we anticipated, that he had sent a large army to co-operate with the Mohammedans. I therefore ad- vised Mwanga at present to have nothing to say to him, and declined to negotiate myself, till he should send a properly accredited envoy with adequate pro- posals and guarantees. ROMAN CATHOLIC CRITICS. 115 I have endeavoured to give a brief outline in these three chapters both of the position of affairs in Uganda, when I arrived there, and of the difficulties between the parties, and the manner in which I dealt with them. It has been a hard matter to condense my diaries into this compass, or to give a full explanation of the work which occupied me from morning till night for these three and a half months. My task was facilitated by the fact that many chiefs of both factions spoke Swahili fluently, in which language I could converse with them. It was not, however, merely a knowledge of the language and the customs of the people, but of the position and limits of estates, which was required. The country being unsurveyed, no map was available. Moreover, for this very reason I did my utmost, as I have shown, to interfere as little as I could, leaving the decision to the king and chiefs, who understood the interests involved. I have not space — and I should tire the general reader — were I to attempt here to give more than this outline, or to reply in detail to the arguments put forward by the Roman Catholic Union to prove my administration corrupt and partial, and my methods wrong. The impossibility of piecing together events, or of judging of cause and effect from the fragmen- tary accounts of them obtained by the perusal of stray reports and letters, has led my critics into several most natural misconceptions and a few misstatements, and as they justly observe, the accounts of the French Fathers being much more voluminous than those hitherto obtainable from English sources, they have been often compelled to rely on an ex jyavte statement only. To quote an instance. I have described poor Mr Gedge's state as I found him in Uganda, — broken down, nearly blind, and in great pain. In daily fear of his life, without influence or authority with the king 116 DIFFICULTIES IN UGANDA. and chiefs, and with some thirty insubordinate porters, one or other of whom was continually being flogged. Yet on page 23 of the ' Uganda Notes' he is described as having forcibly seized a man of the Mujasi's (the R. Catholic head of the army), who was said to have stolen his bullock, and " sent troops " to pillage his master s (the Mujasi's) place ! " Everything was looted, and women and children found there were stripped, chained, and brought before the Company's agent." I know the real story well, and recollect its details, for it was one of the troubles awaiting me when J arrived in Uganda ; and it was very, very different, and was a case of gross theft and insult on the part of the Mujasi's men — as / heard the story. I may not have been correctly informed in all details, but is it not too ridiculous to suppose that Gedge had the poiver to act as described even if he had the ivill ? 117 CHAPTER XXVI. WAR AGAINST MOHAMMEDANS, AND TOUR IN BUDDU. • We join the Uganda army — March in rains — Problem of Uganda water- shed— Nature of country — Concentration of army — Foragers — Discover Lake Isoldt — Mujasi contumacious — Uganda treachery — Katikiro demands a flag — In touch with enemy — Overtures to Mohammedans — Their envoys arrive — Negotiations fall through — Impregnable position of enemy — We outmanoeuvre them — Victory — My reason for securing Selim's Sudanese — Pursuit of Mohammedans impracticable — Uganda army disperses — Williams to Mengo — Further reasons for going to Ankoli — I march to Buddu — Incidents of African life — Nature of country passed through — Select station on the Lake — Description of Luwambu and country — Eetum to Bugaju. We marched out of Kampala on April 8th. As the rains were now at their height, camp -life had its disagreeables. Torrents descended daily, generally towards the afternoon, with a south-west wind. At times we marched along what were' once the great roads of Uganda, and though they were now overgrown with grass, it was easy to trace them by the embankments which often bordered them, and the remains of culverts of palm-logs across the riverine swamps. They had been some 12 to 15 ft. wide. The general level of the country through which we marched was some 4000 ft. above the sea, the low hills being about 250 or 300 ft. higher. The whole country is a never-ending series of these low hills, with their corresponding valleys. There are no running streams, the lowest point in the valley 118 WAR AGAINST MOHAMMEDANS. being generally a sluggish river-swamp, choked with papyrus and marsh growth, and often of bottomless mire. Speke describes them as — "rush-drains that appear to me to be the last waters left of the old bed of the Nyanza." ^ This theory, however, is quite untenable, for these same river-swamps, winding about among the hills, are found throughout Unyoro at an elevation of 5200 ft. — viz., 1300 ft. above the level of the Victoria, and 3000 ft. above the Albert. They are a curious phenomenon, for one would expect that in a country with so heavy a rainfall as Uganda has, and of so hilly a nature, with a surface-soil of marl or gravel (as most of those hills have), we should find a rapid water- shed, with rivers rushing towards the lake. That the contrary is the case can only be explained by the dense- ness of the vegetation, due to the richness of the soil in the valleys and on the lower slopes of the hills. The watershed, such as it is, moreover, is not towards the lake, but away from it, northwards to the Kafu, and so to the Nile. This presents another problem — viz., whence comes the water to supply the Great Lake (27,000 square miles in area), the evaporation from which — bisected as it is by the equator — must be enormous, and from which, nevertheless, issues the mighty Nile, "a giant at its birth " ? For, after crossing the Nzoia in Kavirondo, on the north-east of the lake, — a compara- tively small stream, fordable during most of the year, — there is no other tributary larger than a rivulet all along the northern and down the western shore, till the Kagera is reached in German territory. Speke describes the Katonga — marked as a big river in the maps — exactly as I found it, a mere bog ; and he notes that it is always lowest in the rains. " No one," he ^ Speke's Journals. e J DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY. 119 says, ** could account for this singular fact." ^ Possibly the theory I have advanced of an underground drainage may bear on this question. I have already discussed this interesting problem in a paper read before the Royal Geographical Society,^ and will not therefore repeat myself here. Even these river-swamps were not frequent, and rarely of any magnitude in the country we were now crossing, and it seemed almost mysterious what could become of the copious rainfall. The hills were covered with excellent pasture - grass, and were generally of extremely regular outline, like huge Roman " tumuli." Our direction was to the north-west, our route being not far frx:)m that followed by Dr Junker when he came from Kabarega's capital to visit Uganda. Trees were scarce — the date-palm, which covers the valleys, and various varieties of the bark-cloth tree, cultivated in the estates, being almost the only species. Of wild timber-trees there were very few ; the stately Mpafu, which yields the aromatic gum called Mobani (used for incense), being almost the only one. There was no game, hardly even a partridge, and but few birds; while in the earlier part of the march at least, the scenery was monotonous, though the bright green vege- tation, produced by the rains, gave the undulating hills a pleasing colouring. The country was decidedly fertile and the soil rich, but it was entirely uninhabited soon after we left the precincts of the capital. The people had fled before the raids of the Mohammedans, and the deserted banana-groves had been wrecked by herds of elephants. The soil is full of iron, and the water so im- pregnated with it that the tannic acid in our tea turned it to the colour of ink. We came up with the Katikiro and his army, and daily fresh crowds poured in from every quarter, till ^ Speke's Journals. ^ Proceedings, December 1892. • A 120 WAR AGAINST MOHAMMEDANS. we became a vast throng, covering a great extent of country, as we marched in parallel columns — each column being led by its own chief. The proportion apparently of spearmen to those bearing guns was at least 5 to 1. When at last the armies from the more distant provinces of Buddu and Chagwd had joined us, a careful count was made of the guns, and I was told the number was 4700. This would mean, with the spearmen, at least 20,000, and in addition there was a vast following of boy-slaves and others, carrying the guns, and the mats and bedding of their masters, for in Uganda even the most petty chief thinks it derogatory to his dignity to carry his gun himself ! How this vast army procured food in this deserted country was a mystery, but the spearmen and servants covered great distances in their search for it — often starting over- night. As we neared the enemy I did my utmost to urge upon the Waganda chiefs the necessity of scouting, and of sending out spies to ascertain the enemy's move- ments, and avoid the possibility of a sudden attack and surprise, which, with a host of non-combatants and followers, might cause a panic, resulting in defeat. I was disgusted, however, to find that the Waganda dai^e not scout. The chiefs candidly told me so, and added that, even if they forced men to go out, they would merely hide in the grass close by, and retiu'n with long stories of where they had been, &c., which would be entirely false ! I did, however, succeed in getting a few reliable men from the Mukwenda (chief of Singo), in whose province we were, and who knew every yard of the country, and their reports proved fairly accurate. I could not undertake this work with my own men, for we should not have known friend from foe, and if we fell in with the enemy, might sup- pose them to be merely foraging-parties from our force. J DISCOVER LAKE ISOLDT. 121 When, however, I realised to what great distances these foraging-parties went, I ceased to consider the scouting of such importance, recognising that the foragers practically supplied their place. On the 15th I discovered the little lake *'Isoldt," close to the headquarters of the Mukwenda at Mitiana, in Singo. The same day I received a letter from Emin Pasha, of which I give a fac-simile (p. 122). Not only is its writer a man in whom the whole civilised world has taken a great interest, but the letter itself is an im- portant one, as I shall presently show. The allusion it contains to myself refers to my having written early in 1888, before I went to Nyasa, offering him my assist- ance in his province — before the advent of Mr Stanley's *' relief expedition." We had lately corresponded on various subjects, and his previous letter (of March 1st) had been to inform me, that reports had reached him that the Waganda intended to attack the German station of Bukoba, and that we were giving them arms and ammunition for the purpose ! By the 21st April the entire army had collected. Though it was a fortnight since we left the capital, we had only achieved some fifty miles in a direct north- west (307'') direction, and were now on the borders of Unyoro. The country, quite suddenly, changed con- siderably in its aspects. The rounded hills gave place to granite boulders, with picturesque peaks of rock on the summits of the hills. Fine-grown borassus palm, and acacias, and many forest-trees, gave the country a wooded appearance. Our march was not eventful. On one occasion an elephant was reported to have killed several foragers : Williams and I followed him up, but unsuccessfully. On another, one of our men fired at and wounded a Mganda in some quarrel when foraging, and got severely handled by me in consequence. On another, 122 WAR AGAINST MOHAMMEDANS. JCafurti^ TCk/fOu^Ut, ^arJi bf^JdjJ 9t€i^hy^ Jm A^k/AiMlbifi^/ta ^uujjiir %j- y^xr Jftr^ h>/i J/jfT, Tifrjutvr^ / - , ^«utjuf/.»//L tLf/d f^n. M /a* ^ajJ^ ,'Tfiytf9ri,fi n^ut" Jam €t4t/^rMAM»^ ^/''^ ^^ Mfi t-f' ti nt A BAA. *^A "* '^^4t4ry9yU -f^r ^BAxr fi*/£ttAA^ n^r »/ ^dj *> "tuZ/lU #/'Wr»«♦• r U e^AA^UAJcO •f'^AM ^i>AXtrt fr»ttf/^i ^i^«/4A,J^9^t. ^^ *' *^<'. ^. ^*- •'^^A^i ^«*^